Ocean Soul
by silver-wolf reborn
Summary: A tragedy that happened decades ago plagues her mind. A secret that has been long since lost. Now, a young woman, and the only survivor, travels with the Strawhat Pirates. But at what cost? Is her 17 year old secret worth their lives? Read and find out.
1. Chapter 1: Boy with the Straw Hat

**Hello!**

**Welcome to my newest creation! That has sadly been in the works for over a year...  
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**Anyway, I shall try to update as frequently as life will allow me. And bare in mind that this is my first actual Fanfiction. I am a spelling nerd, so if you catch something wrong, or anything wrong in general, please tell me. Constructive criticism makes this thing better :) **

**Now, Read, Review and Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER**** - I DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, OWN ONE PIECE. IF I DID, WELL, A CERTAIN BROTHER WOULD NOT HAVE DIED.**

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><p><span>Ocean Soul<span>

Chapter 1 – Boy with the Straw Hat 

A ship was docked on a small uncharted island; a pirate ship actually. The captain of the vessel was currently inspecting how well the crewmen were doing their jobs. The captain ran a finger along the bulwark, and was not pleased with what she saw.

"Why is there dust on my bulwark?"

These words chilled the blood of all those cleaning the ship and one of them immediately stammered out, "A thousand pardons Lady Alvida! I-I thought I'd cleaned every inch of this ship! I'll clean everything all over again! Please!"

The captain, Lady Alvida, turned menacingly toward the man. "Please _what_?"

"Please, not the iron mace! I-I don't wanna die!" His pleas went unheeded as Lady Alvida smashed him upside the head, sending the man flying across the deck. Hopefully not, but probably dead. _Sigh_, another one? Jeez…

"Coby!" Alvida called, "Who is the most beautiful throughout all the seas?"

Coby chuckled nervously and gave the reply that everyone gave if they valued their lives, "Why _**you **_are… Lady Alvida! No one compares to you!"

"Correct! Which is why I will not tolerate ANYTHING dirty! The ship I sail in must be as beautiful and clean as I am. Understood?"

Alvida turned to Coby and threatened, "Remember Coby, were it not for you immense knowledge of the seas, I would have fed you to the sharks a long time ago! But don't push your luck!"

Truer words were never spoken. Anyone could tell that Coby was definitely not pirate material. A short pink-haired kid with round frame glasses, he was currently sitting on the deck and trembling like a Chihuahua. "Y-Yes... That's very kind of you," he replied quaveringly.

"Other than that, you're worthless! Here, shine my shoes!" she yelled as she kicked him.

"Y-Yes Lady Alvida! Right away!"

Lady Alvida returned to 'ordering' her crew. "I don't want to see even one speck of dust on this ship!"

"Aye aye!"

"That's enough for now! You piece of garbage!" She barked as she kicked the boy again.

Coby chuckled desperately, "I-I'm so sorry!"

"If you've got time to grovel, then you've got time to scrub the toilets!" the Captain bellowed.

"Eh-heh, right away milady."

I had watched the whole thing from my perch atop the galley. I could see the pink haired boy hold back sobs as he walked my way. I grinned as I thought of a way to cheer the depressed boy up.

I waited until he had passed me and jumped the 10 feet to the ground right behind him, making a light 'THUMP'. "You okay kid?"

He yelped as he spun around and let out a sigh of relief when he saw me. "Azure!"

"Come on; let me take care of that cut. Then we can go patrol the shoreline." I said as I led him to a barrel on deck. He sat atop it as I fish out my first aid kit from my cargo pants. I love these pants. They have a gazillion pockets and I can keep just about everything you could need in them.

After quickly bandaging him up, we headed off to shore. This poor kid had been on the Miss Love Duck for two year now, I'm sure he's thankful that he actually has a friend on the ship. I mean, I've only been here for about six months and that's only because I lost a bet.

"Hey Azure," Coby called out as pulled me front my head. "What do you think that is?"

I looked over to where he was facing. There seemed to be something brown floating on the surface.

"Looks like a barrel," I said squinting a bit. "Maybe a passing ship lost some booze. That storm the other day was a nasty one."

"We should wait for it to get closer before we get it," he said cautiously. I just grinned.

"If we do that, then a current might snag it," I said as I started to take off my black shin-high combat boots. "Don't worry Coby, you stay here and keep watch while I get it."

"B-but Az—" I cut him off with a cocked eyebrow. "Fine, just be careful?"

"Naturally," I smirked over my shoulder.

I carefully waded through the water until it was mid-thigh but the barrel was still too far away. I looked behind to see I was quite a ways away from shore and Coby wouldn't be able to see what I'm doing. I placed my left palm on the surface of the water and felt, more then saw, the markings on my body start to glow faintly. Thankfully, I never did take off my long sleeve button-up… While still on the surface, I gently swept my hand towards me. The water reacted by gently pulling the barrel to me. From shore it would simply look as if the current got stronger and brought it to me.

I pulled the drum onto my shoulder before I released the hold I had on the water, making the glow stop. Afterwards, I made my way to shore.

"Here we go," I said placing it on the sand. "One rum barrel… and a set of soaked clothes…"

Coby chuckled as I pouted. "You should have waited Azure."

I stuck out my tongue. I don't care if it was childish! "Fine. How 'bout you take this to the storage house while I go change? Then we can go snag some apples before dinner."

"Okay," he smiled shyly. I grinned again before grabbing my boots and making my way to the ship.

Down the stairs, left turn then a right. I opened the door to my cupboard/bedroom. Alvida had originally had me bunk with the rest of the crew, which are ALL male by the way. Not that I have a problem with bunking with guys, but some of them are drunk perverts… Anyway, after some convincing, I talked her into letting use a storage cupboard that wasn't being used. It was a small win for me.

Going through the few clothes that I had, I striped out of my soaked ones and pulled on some clean, warm ones. Some navy blue cargo pants, to which I quickly filled the many pockets, a light blue tank top, a black button-up shirt that I left open, pulled on my black boots and a black fingerless glove on my right hand. I checked my mirror before I left.

I ran my fingers through my wavy shoulder-length cerulean blue hair, my sea-foam green eyes searching for anything out of place. Once deemed decent, I grabbed my black and teal stripped bandana and shoved it in a pocket before I finally left my room.

As I made my way to the upper deck, sounds of a loud commotion made it to my ears. Fearing the worst for the pink haired boy, I ran above deck, only to duck as a large mass flew overhead. I looked over in the direction of where the thing came from but all I saw was a gawking Coby and a boy no older than me talking to the crew. He was tall (well, taller than me -_-") and thin; wearing a red vest, cut-off jean shorts, sandals and a straw hat atop his short messy black hair.

"Give Coby a dinghy," he ordered. "He's going to join the Marines."

"Y-yes sir!" one of them stuttered fearfully.

I cocked an eyebrow. Why were they so scared of him? And where was Alvida? Surely she didn't tolerate this.

I turned away from both boys only to have my eyes widen. Lying against the rail, unconscious, was the lady captain herself.

"Oi, Coby?" I called to the boy.

"Azure!"

I turned towards the two boys. "Mind telling me what I missed?"

Coby opened his mouth to explain, but was interrupted when a crew member came to tell them that the boat was ready and filled with provisions. Well that was fast… I sighed.

"I suppose it can't be helped. Well, I guess this is good bye Coby," I smiled. "If it means anything, I think you'll make one hell of a Marine."

He blushed briefly then gave a confused look. "But I wanted you to come with us."

My eyes softened. He sounded so… deflated. "What do you think would happen, Coby? Once you get to the base and you friend goes off, what about me?

I wouldn't have anywhere to go. I can't join the Marines because I have a bounty and I have a goal that forces me to be a pirate. So the best thing for me to do is stay here"

"What's your goal?" the guy asked. I almost jumped. I had forgotten that he as there… and that I still don't know his name.

"I'm looking for something," I replied vaguely. "Something that most would find completely useless. But to me, it's the most valuable thing in the world."

"Hmmmm… okay!" He grinned am=n impossibly large smile. Anymore and his face would split in half.

"By the way, name's Magali Azure." I said as I slipped my hands into my pockets. "Hopefully, we'll meet again on the seas."

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy and I'm going to be King of the Pirates."

_Blink… Blink…_

"You're insane."

"And you're coming with us," He grinned.

I'm sorry, I think I misheard.

"What?" I gave him a deadpanned look.

"I decided that you're coming with us."

…He can't possibly think that I'm just going to just up and leave. I mean, sure— did he just agree to being insane or did he not catch that… Looking at him I'd say the latter.

"Please Azure," the pink-haired boy pleaded. "You're always complaining that you hate it here, now's your chance to leave. What have you got to lose?"

In all honesty, he was right. It's rather obvious I won't get far with Alvida, not only that, she's a bitch. I need to move on and find a way to the Grand Line. I sighed and crossed my arms. "I have one condition," I said seriously. "My loyalty is to the ocean before all else. If, for any reason, it or my goal is endangered, I'm leaving."

"Gotcha," Luffy grinned, but I don't really think he got it.

"So you're coming?" asked an enthused Coby.

I nodded. "Give me two minutes."

And with that, I ran off to my quarters. I grabbed the navy blue messenger bag from under my table and started packing necessities: clothes, a map of the East Blue, a couple thousand Berries, a book or two, the black blanket from my hammock and a small portable air tank. Making sure I had everything, I went to the night table and opened the drawer. I carefully pulled out the black, book-sized box.

It was a simple black wooden box with a lock. There wasn't much detail on it; just simple blue waves etched along the sides and a crescent moon carved on the lid in the same pale blue. It contained my treasure, something my mother left me.

I quickly tucked it into my bag and ran out of the room, not looking back. Quickly glancing about the deck, Luffy and Coby were nowhere in sight. So I headed to the scaffold and jumped off the bulwark, landing in the middle of the small boat…and the two boys.

"Hi."

I chuckled as Coby was getting over a heart attack and Luffy was grinning like a fool.

"So, where are we headed?" I asked as I placed my bag by the mast.

"The nearest Marine base," said Luffy as he moved to sit on the figurehead.

I nodded and got comfortable. I got the feeling that I was in for one hell of a fantastical adventure.

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><p><strong>As mentioned, I shall update as soon as I can. Hopefully, I can post these on Sundays. But no promises though.<strong>

**Reviews might make it go faster... *hint, hint***

**See ya!**

**Silver**


	2. Chapter 2: The Pirate Hunter

**Hello!**

**I am so very sorry this wasn't out on Sunday, but alas I had a convention on that day. But to make it up to you all, it is currently 2:55AM. I hope you're all happy.**

**Special thanks to ShadedEclipse: Thankies~!**

**Read,**

**Review,**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 2 ~ The Pirate Hunter<span>

"A demonic beast, huh?"

"Roronoa Zoro is his real name, but they call him 'Zoro the Pirate Hunter'."

I gently roused from my nap. It had been several hours since we left Alvida and were currently headed south-east. Coby was a fairly good navigator.

"He's a bloodthirsty hound roaming the seas, hunting men for the bounties on their heads! They say he's a demon in human form!"

"You ever hear the cliché 'don't judge a book by its cover'?" I said before stretching. "I could probably take him."

"Are you crazy Azure!" yelped the boy.

I just shrugged it off. He should know how tough I am by now. "He's most likely no more dangerous than a squirrel."

"But he's a dangerous pirate hunter!" he turned back to Luffy, who was sitting on the figurehead. "And pirate hunters don't mix well with pirates!"

"I haven't decided on whether I'll invite him to join my crew or not," said Straw-hat as he turned to face us. "If he's a good guy, then I'll—"

"He's in prison because he's **not **a good guy!"

I shook my head and smiled, then pulled out a book.

"We're finally here!" cheered Luffy as he stood on the dock. "We made it to the marine base town!"

"It's kinda small," I said as I hopped out of the boat. "Nice navigating by the way Coby."

"Yeah Coby," Luffy piped up. "You actually got us to our destination."

"Of course I did. It's a minimum requirement for those who sail the seas."

"Even I have _some_ navigational skill," I pointed out with a peace sign.

"Luffy, you'll never be a proper pirate if you keep randomly floating around," stated the pinkette as he pushed up his glasses.

"Okay, I'll find a navigator," said Straw-hat. "Now let's eat!"

I grinned, "Good, I'm starved!"

We walked around town a bit, looking for a cheap meal. We found a nice little restaurant and found our way to a table in the corner.

"Hey Azure, why did you bring your bag?" asked Luffy as I placed my bag on the floor.

"Don't want my things to get stolen," I replied simply. It was the truth; I had far too many valuable things in my bag. At least to me anyway… He nodded and called the waitress over to order.

When I saw the amount Luffy ordered, my jaw nearly hit the floor. How can someone so damn skinny eat so much? And another thing, how does he intend to pay for all that? I decided that I'd rather not know and ate my own food, which was a lot, but considerably less than his.

"Well Coby," smiled Luffy after stuffing our faces. "I guess this is where we part ways."

"Yeah Coby," I gave my own smile, "It's been fun. I hope you become a great sailor."

Poor boy started to get all teary on us. "Th-thanks you guys," he sniffled, "I hope you guys become great pirate! Even if that means we'll be enemies."

"Hey I just remembered…" said Luffy after a moment. "That guy is supposed to be imprisoned here."

"Who?" I asked. After a second, "Oh! Roronoa Zoro, right?"

There was a loud crash as tables, chairs and food clattered to the ground. We looked up to see the people in the joint cowering against the walls.

"Maybe you shouldn't say his name around here," whispered Coby. Luffy and I nodded in agreement.

"I saw a poster that said that this is the base of Captain Morgan," he continued.

The whole room clattered and crashed again. I blinked in confusion before piling up our dished and paid for the meal. I grabbed the two boys and pulled them out before we made things worse.

Was the Captain a tyrant or something? I mean, I understand the terror of Roronoa; most people tend to fear those who fear nothing. But the marine Captain? I mean it was possible, but why? Laughter broke my mental bubble.

"What a great restaurant!" giggled Luffy. "I want to go back there again."

"Everyone is so jumpy," said a worried Coby. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this."

"You're not the only one," I smiled.

"I mean, I can understand with Roronoa Zoro's name; he might escape at any moment. But why did they get nervous hearing the Captain's name?"

"Who knows!" replied Luffy with his hands in his pockets. "Maybe they just got carried away."

"I seriously doubt that…" I sweatdroped.

We walked towards the tall tower-like building on the outskirts of the town. For a naval town, we were fortunate enough not to run into any marines. As we got there, Coby looked both pale and speechless.

"Wow, it looks so big close up…" I mumbled.*

"Go on in Coby," encouraged Luffy with a large grin.

"B-but I haven't mentally prepared myself yet!" said the bespectacled boy, trying to buy time. "And those people sure were scared of the Captain's name…"

"Coby, I get you're anxious, but you've wanted this for a long time. Stop being nervous and be happy. Be happy that your dream is finally coming true! You can— Luffy what are you doing?"

The stupid idiot ruined my speech. I'ma kill 'im. He was hanging from the 10 foot brick wall that surrounded the base.

"I wonder if I can see the demonic beast from here," he said looking around. He then jumped down and ran further down the wall.

"You won't just find him by peeking over the fence," stated the pink haired boy. "He's probably deep within the bowels of the prison."

"Or they could have just left him outside in the heat and let the birds pick at him," I shrugged with a smirk. Coby 'eep-ed' and I grinned; he was such a scaredy cat.

"She's right!" said Luffy excitedly, a ways away. "There's someone over there."

I grinned. "Maybe its Zorro!" I ran to join him on the wall. I glanced around the parade grounds and saw a man tied to a post. He wasn't very hard to miss, as he was in the middle of the grounds.

"There," I whispered. "That's him, right?"

Coby climbed the wall between us. His eyes widened in fear and ended up falling back to the ground on his rump.

"What's wrong?" asked Luffy as we glanced at the fallen boy.

"B-b-black b-bandana and a haramaki sash! It's really him! That's Roronoa Zoro!"

So since it was who we were looking for, I decided I could size him up. As I mentioned, he was tied to a cross shaped post: upper-arms tied to the horizontal one with the rest hanging over behind it and his waist tied to the thick vertical one. His black bandana overshadowed his eyes; his white t-shirt had an open collar with three buttons, his green sash with black pants tucked into black boots.

"He looks so… menacing!" panicked Coby.

"So that's him, eh?" Luffy thought aloud. "I could just untie those ropes and set him free."

"Those knots look too complicated," I mumbled, "you'd have t'a cut him loose."

"That's suicide!" yelped Coby as he scrambled back up the wall. "If you let him loose, he'll kill us then wreck the town!"

"Hey kid!"

The terrified boy yelped again as we looked to the voice while Luffy gave a very intelligent "Huh?"

"Come over here… and untie me," said Zoro looking at us. "I've been here nine days and I can't take it anymore."

"Hey! He's smiling," Luffy said trying to be serious. Yeah… didn't work.

"Luffy," I sweatdroped, "He's smirking."

""He's talking to us…" Coby trembled as he peaked over the wall.

"I'll make it worth your while," I can't believe Roronoa was trying to bribe us. "I'll capture someone with a big price on their head and give all the money to you. You can trust me; I'm a man of my word."

"D-don't do it Luffy!" begged the boy. "As soon as you untie him, he'll kill us and get away! I just know it!"

"He won't kill us," replied Luffy confidently. "He couldn't. I wouldn't let him."

I blinked. I'm fairly sure that wasn't arrogance. Knowledge? Trust maybe?

**WHAK!**

We all looked to my right to see a ladder. Then a little girl made it to the top, shushed us and hopped over to the other side.

"Hey!" Coby called after her. "D-don't, it's dangerous!"

She completely ignored him and walked up the prisoner. I'll just sum up the next few minutes.

The girl had offered Zoro two riceballs that she made herself; all the while he was threatening her to leave him alone. Then some random blond guy with a cleft chin flanked by two marines showed up and stomped on the riceballs because he said they were too sweet. He told a marine to toss the girl over the wall, but Luffy caught her before she crashed.

"Are you okay?" asked Coby as he checked the girl over. I watched as Straw-hat dusted himself off and head to the wall again.

"My, aren't you a stubborn one?" I heard a nasally voice from over the wall.

"Coby," I called softly, not wanting to draw attention. "Take my bag." I gently plopped my bag on the ground and followed after Luffy. By the time I got there, the blond was gone and Luffy was walking up to Zoro.

"You still here?" he asked as he looked up from his bindings. "Better not let Helmeppo's father catch you."

"Look, I'm looking for a few good men to join my pirate crew."

"Pirate crew? You honestly think I would lower myself to that level? No thanks!"

"But becoming a pirate is my dream! What's wrong with it?"

"You think if you untie me, I'm gonna join your pirate crew?" smirked Zoro. Up close, I could see that his hair was rather short and green. Like a moss green. Cool.

"I haven't decided on whether I'll ask you yet," smiled Luffy. "You've got a pretty bad reputation you know?"

"Bad reputation, huh… Well anyway, I don't go for that kind of deal. I've got my own plans for the future." His smirk widened. "I don't need your help. I can get out on my own. All I have to do is last here for a month, then I'm a free man! Captain Morgan's idiot son promised me. All I've got to do is survive here for a month. Then I'll be free to pursue my dream!"

"Hmm… I see. I don't think I could last a week without food," grinned Luffy. I sweatdroped; I don't think he could last a day.

"Me and you are different," replied Zoro. "I've got more willpower."

"It's not really about willpower," I said, finally making my presence known. "The human body can go three days without water and three weeks without food. Mind you, your body can consume any fat stored in your body, giving you maybe five extra days." I went over and poked his stomach causing him to grunt in surprise. "Just as I thought, you're all muscle. I'd give you four more days, tops."

"Azure!" Luffy grinned. "When did you get here?"

"I was here the entire time, retard!" I replied with a tic mark as I smacked him upside the head. I mean, yes I am oblivious, but that's just sad. I turned back to Zoro. "She's fine by the way, no injuries whatsoever."

"Tch, go look for you crew somewhere else."

I smirked at his attempt at being nonchalant. Just as Luffy and I started to walk away, he called us back.

"Pick that up for me," he ordered. Straw-hat walked over to pick up what was left of the ball but the frowned ever so slightly.

"You're not going to eat this! It's more of a dirtball than a riceball now…"

"You'd be surprised what people would eat when they're starving," I said, half turned to them with my hands in my pockets.

"I know," he sounded disgusted, "but this—"

"Shut up!" yelled Zoro. "Just shut up and feed it to me! And don't miss a single grain of rice!"

Luffy dumped the rice inside the man's waiting mouth. After him chewing and hacking, Luffy spoke up. "I told you it was mostly dirt…"

Zoro coughed, "Tell the kid, tell her I said it was delicious. Tell her I ate it all."

I grinned and Luffy laughed.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

"Really!"

"Yup" I replied with a grin. "He ate every single bite."

"I'm so glad!" said the little girl, whose name we learned was Rika.

"Could that guy really be as bad as they say?" asked Coby skeptically.

"He's not a bad guy! Rika cried. We had met up and were brought to sit in front of her home. "Everyone in town is afraid of him… but he did nothing wrong!"

Huh?

"He got thrown in prison because of me," she said guiltily. "Captain Morgan's son had a bunch of mean dogs! They attacked me… but Roronoa Zoro saved me! Besides those dogs were running loose and scaring everyone in town."

"That's why Zoro's in prison?" I asked surprised. "Because he attacked that butt-munches dog?"

"That makes sense," said Coby as he readjusted his glasses. "Zoro's a scary guy, but he only goes after people with prices on their heads and he wouldn't get thrown in prison for that."

"Captain Morgan and his son are the bad ones!" cried the little girl." They put people to death for no reason at all! Everyone is afraid of them."

Laughter erupted down the road. "You're not bowing your heads low enough scum! I'll tell my father on all of you!"

I groaned. "Brilliant, the butt-munch is here…" I muttered, causing Luffy to snicker. But I noticed the villagers bowing on their hands and knees with terrified looks on their faces.

"Do you want to be jailed like Roronoa Zoro!" he continued. "We're going to hold a public execution for him in three days! That'll make an example out of him! I can hardly wait!"

What! My eyes widened.

"Three days?" asked a confused Luffy. "But you made him a promise!"

"What? Where did you hear that?" asked the blond man. He thought for a second before he laughed again. "That promise was just a joke! He's just a stupid beast for believing it!"

That cock-sucking son of a bitch! I hate corrupted power-hungry people like him and his father was worse! At least _he_ had a backbone! But getting angry wouldn't help the situation. I was just about to tell Luffy, but I was too late.

He had already had the man by the collar and punched him in the jaw, hard.

Coby and I each took an arm to hold Luffy back.

"That guy is scum," he muttered.

"Luffy! Calm down!" Coby cried. "You want to make an enemy of the navy!"

All the villagers were stunned to say the least. The Captain's son remained on the ground bloodied.

"Coby, Azure, I've made my decision," Luffy claimed. We both gave him a questioning look as his demeanor changed. "I'm going to ask Zoro to join my crew!"

Some of the townsfolk got over their shock as I heard some of them murmur; "H-he really did it!", "He punched Helmeppo!", "The Captain will be furious!"

"Luffy! Stop!" Coby cried again to the struggling pirate.

"Scum is scum," he replied simply. "No matter who you father is."

Helmeppo started to rise, with the help of two marines, and placed a hand on his injured cheek. "Y-you hit!" he yelled flabbergasted. Heh, flabbergasted… "You actually hit me! Not even daddy has hit me! I'M CAPTAIN MORGAN'S BELOVED SON! I'M TELLING DADY ON YOU!"

There was a collective gasp from the crowded. Luffy was still struggling in our grip. Well, more mine then Coby's.

"Don't go crying to papa! Face me like a man!"

"Luffy!" Coby tried again to no avail.

"Luffy," I muttered, "Please, calm down. Deep breaths."

Surprisingly, he did what he was told. I started to release my hold on him.

"You'll die begging for mercy! Helmeppo shouted as he was carried off. "You're a walking corpse! You… you… booger head!"

Booger head? How mature…

"He's not even worth hitting, "said Luffy.

"Now you've done it…" mumbled Coby.

I noticed something on the ground and saw it to be Luffy's straw hat. I slowly picked it up before fingering it a moment. Looking at it up close, I could see that it was old and worn, as if it had seen many battles. But despite this, it looked to be in fairly good condition.

I sighed and dusted it off before I went and flopped it on this head. He gave me a confused look before he placed a hand on his head.

"My hat!" he grinned widely. "Thanks!" I returned my own.

"You were great aniki!" said Rika as she ran up to us. "I feel a lot better now!"

"Then I wish I'd given a few more whacks for you!"

"Rika! A woman screeched. "Get over here!"

Rika's face dropped and with a reluctant goodbye, went over to the woman, who I assume was her mother.

"You shouldn't be talking to those people," her mother hissed. "If they think you're their friend then they'll kill you too!"

"But mommy," Rika protested, "they're good people! And Zoro, he's a good—"

"What are you saying!" the woman shrieked. "You didn't go to the parade grounds did you!"

"Um… well… n-no…"

"Hurry up and get inside…" her mother said as she slammed the door shut. Leaving a waving and smiling Luffy, a confused Coby and a sad me. Coby then rounded on Luffy and started freaking out.

"They won't let you get away with this! And Captain Morgan has the whole Navy behind him!"

I placed a hand on the frantic boy's shoulder in attempt to calm him down. It worked… a little…

"Yeah, whatever," said Luffy as he headed towards the base. "I need to talk to Zoro."

I sweatdroped.

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><p><strong>*That's what she said! (I'm sorry -_-")<strong>

**I think I'll do the disclaimer every ten chapters... **

**See you all next time!**

**Silver**


	3. Chapter 3: Santoryu

**Happy Christmas! And to all other beliefs also. Terribly sorry this is so late, I tried to get it out last night as a sort of christmas gift. But alas, being with family for the holiday makes things rather hard.**

**As for not posting last week, well I have no excuse really but I'll give you the reason anyway. I had briefly lost the will to continue this fic. But here I am giving tis to you all. Special thanks to ShadedEclipse for the review~!**

**Read, Review, Enjoy~!**

**Silver**

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><p><span>Chapter 3 ~ Santoryū<span>

I sighed deeply. Luffy had left for the base about five minutes ago. I rose from my spot on the steps, thinking that it had been long enough.

"Azure?" Coby asked as I stretched my body.

"Come on kiddo, let's go help Luffy."

"Okay", he replied resolutely. I cocked an eyebrow. Whatever caused his demeanor to change, I wasn't going to question it. I smiled at him, and then walked over to the house across the road. Coby looked confused as I knocked on the door.

"Nee-chan!" smiled Rika as she opened the door.

"Hey Rika," I replied with my own. "We're headed back to the base, can watch this for me?"

"Sure thing," she said as she took hold of my bag, "but be careful."

"Naturally," I grinned before walking off with Coby,

Once we got to the wall, I easily climbed up to the top and sat so I could help the boy up. As he caught his breath, I gripped the wall—as I would a set of monkey bars— and fell backwards, back flipping of the wall and landing on my feet with a soft thud. I looked up and grinned as Coby let out a sigh of relief; he always worries too much.

I glanced around as he eased himself down. This place still seems so barren; shouldn't there be guards or something? Once he made it to the ground, none too gently I might add, we made our way to the prisoner. But as I looked around again, Luffy was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell is he?

"He what!" Coby gasped. Great, what did I miss now?

"Azure, Luffy went into the fortress!" he said feverishly. "Why is he so reckless!" he asked himself.

"Yeah, I've noticed," mumbled Zoro. I just noticed he was there. God dammit, I need to pay attention… "Who is he anyway?"

"Dunno," I replied with a smile and a shrug, "I'm just along for the ride."

The man gave me a look before turning a surprised one to Coby. "Now **you're** being reckless! If they catch you freeing me, they'll kill you!"

"They imprisoned you unfairly," replied the boy as he focused on the knots. "I can't stand to see the marines act improperly."

I felt myself smile. "I'm going to be a proper marine just like Luffy will be King of the Pirates!"

"What!" Zoro exclaimed. "King of the Pirates! Does he know what that means!"

Coby and I laughed. "I was shocked at first too," said Coby.

"I was calmer but I have yet to believe him," I grinned. "Although he seems more the set on it."

"Yeah, but he'll succeed or die trying," said the pinkette, "that's just how he is."

For a split second, my body froze and tensed. I ducked to my right as I heard gunshots. Crouched with my hand on the ground, I glared up at the top of the base, ready to evade more shots. But there was only the two. Wait, two?

My eyes widened as I saw my friend on the ground, bloodied. "Coby!" I rushed over fearing the worst as I checked for a pulse. I was beyond relieved when I found one so I figured I should check the wound. It was a clean shot, not causing any actual damage but it would still hurt like a bitch, at least to a normal person. Unfortunately, the bullet was still inside his shoulder so it would have to be fished out.

A hand flew to the injury. "Blood? Aaaah I'm bleeding! I've been shot!" he yelled.

I let out a breath and giggled, "Good to see you alive and kicking Coby."

"So he's breathing?" asked Zoro, "Good, now get outta here. They're on their way down."

"But we haven't freed you yet," the boy huffed.

"Don't worry about me," said a frustrated Zoro. "I just have to survive the month and they'll let me go. So just beat it—"

"No," I said deadpanned, cutting him off. "They're not going to let you go. You're going to be executed in three days."

"What are you saying! That idiot promised me! If I survived here a month, I'll be set free!"

"You shouldn't so easily believe a man like him."

"He never intended to keep that promise!" yelled a quivering Coby as he tried to sit. I gave him a careful look; he wasn't used to this kind excitement. "That's why Luffy punched Helmeppo! Because he found out that Helmeppo lied to you!"

"What!" Zoro's eyes widened. He seemed awed by the act of a total stranger. I smiled.

"The marines are you enemy now," Coby huffed. "Please! If I untie you will you, will you help Luffy and Azure?"

I blinked in confusion before standing up. My body started to tense; they were close.

"They both saved my life, Azure more than a hundred times! I won't ask you to become a pirate, but… they're both really strong and so are you! If you team up, then you can escape from here! Please, help them!"

I closed my eyes and smirked. That Coby, always thinking about others when he has other things to worry about. I heard the 'klack'-ing of guns and reopened my eyes.

"Stay where you are!" yelled a marine.

"Captain Morgan has ordered your immediate execution!' shouted another.

I kept my eyes on the soldiers, but from my peripherals I could see Zoro gritting his teeth and Coby sweating with his eyes tearing. Okay, since Coby isn't a fighter and Zoro is not only tied up but is missing his swords, I guess I have to do this. I took a step forward, fully facing the firing squad.

"Don't move!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" yelled the swordsman.

"Just shut up and stay behind me," I murmured, shielding the two with my body. I took my defensive stance; legs apart with the left one more ahead, torso leaning forward ever so slightly, right hand low with my fingers tense and spread behind me.

"Azure—" Coby cried before being interrupted by a booming voice.

"Surround the fortress! If that rascal in the straw hat escapes, you'll all be sorry!"

The man who spoke was insanely tall and muscular, hulking even. His shortly cropped blond hair and cruel eyes would creep anyone out, but only three things actually caught my attention. His iron jaw, the sleeveless marine coat he wore and his right forearm was a giant axe. He must be Captain 'axe-hand' Morgan.

"You aren't simple out laws are you?" Morgan said as he approached. "You're trying to overthrow me!"

Huh, so he wasn't just some power-hungry, egoistical bastard. He was paranoid too. Great…

"Roronoa Zoro! Peasant and pirates may tremble at your name… but you are no match for the great one! You may be a barracuda, but I am the great white shark! Take aim!"

I heard a growl and a squeak behind me as I narrowed my eyes. I could feel the water molecules start to form around my outstretched hand. I heard the shattering of glass before the captain yelled, "Fire!"

Usually my reaction time isn't slow, but I was so stunned that I didn't even put my shield up. Because right as I was about to raise my hand, a blur of red and yellow landed right in front of me. The blur even had time to spread its arms and take the bullets.

"You!"

"Luffy!"

"What!"

"Straw hat…"

The bullets stretched his skin back, almost hitting me, and flew backwards towards the marines.

"Bullets can't hurt me!" yelled Luffy with a chuckle.

"Look out!" Morgan shouted as they all hit the ground.

"What are you!' yelled and equally puzzled/shocked/awed Zoro.

"I'm the guy who's going to be King of the Pirates!" he grinned then he glanced to me, "Azure, you okay?"

I shook my head to clear it, "Peachy." Then I grinned, "Say Luffy, did you by any chance eat a devil fruit?"

His impossibly large grin seemed to widen, "Yup."

Well, this should be interesting. I glanced behind me to see that Coby had passed out. Poor boy probably fainted from such excitement.

"I practice Santoryū, three sword style," said Zoro to Luffy, who was holding out three swords. Dammit, I zoned out again.

"If you fight the Marines here and now," said Luffy holding out a white katana and two black ones, "In the eyes of the government, you'll be one of the bad guys."

"On the other hand," I said coming to stand beside the rubber-man, "You could obey the law, resulting in your death." I turned a grin to him, "Which is it?"

He smirked, and with his bandana shadowing his eyes he did look rather demonic. "You must be demon spawns," his smirk grew. "But I'm not ready to die without a fight! Alright dammit! YOU'VE GOT YOURSELF A PIRATE!"

"Really? You'll join my crew!" Luffy cheered.

"You're not giving me much of a choice…" growled the swordsman.

"What about me?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I had been wondering since I left Alvida's ship.

"What about you?" asked Luffy confusedly. "You're already part of my crew."

I blinked. When the hell did that happen?

"I meant to ask you properly, y'know make it official."

"Huh, well—"

"Can we do this later!" asked an impatient swordsman.

"Right!" said my new Captain as he went to untie one of the arms. I moved to the other and did the same. Thing is, these were expert knots and as I said earlier, they'd have to be cut.

"Come on! Hurry up!' said a slightly panicked Zoro.

"I'm trying," Luffy actually looked to be concentrating, it was kinda cute.

"Hold on a sec," I gritted, but I just seemed to make it worse.

"Luffy! Zoro! Azure!" called the now conscious Coby, "Look out!"

I looked up to see the soldiers coming at us with swords. I growled, "Screw this!"

I quickly dug my hand into a pocket on my right thigh and pulled out my dagger. With one slash, faster than humanly possible, I cut the ropes that binded his arms.

"Gimme my swords, you idiot!" he yelled. I hoped he wasn't referring to me.

"Those who defy me must die!" I heard Morgan yell.

I was roughly pushed back and caught around the shoulder by another. I opened my eyes to see that it was Zoro that had pushed me and that Luffy had pulled me to him. I mumbled a thank you before turning my eyes to where I had been, only to have my eyes widen. There was Zoro, black katana in each hand with the white one between his teeth, holding back every single marine sword. I heard Morgan growl out his name.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed right in my ear, "He's so COOL!"

"I must say, that's pretty epic."

"First one to move dies," he said to the marines clearly, as if he didn't have the hilt of a sword in his mouth.

"Alright, so I'm a pirate, I gave you my word," said the swordsman to the boy beside me. I took a step back, not wanting interfere.

"I fought the marines; therefore I'm officially an outlaw. But hear this! I have a mission to fulfill! I'm going to be the world's greatest swordsman! All I have left is my destiny. My name may be infamous, but it's gonna shake the world! But you're making me become a pirate! So if I have to abandon my dream for any reason, then I'm going to make you commit Hara Kiri!"

"The world's greatest swordsman, that's great! And it's fitting since your new boss is gonna be King of the Pirates. Anything else would make me look bad."

I rolled my eyes, "Tch, conceited much?" I still smiled though.

"Why do you hesitate!" the infuriated marine captain bellowed. "Hack those brigands into mince-meat! NOW!"

"Zoro, duck!" called Luffy as he brought his leg back. "Gum-Gum… Whip!"

My eyes widened again, they seem to be doing that a lot today. Luffy's leg stretched as he kicked it out, bringing all the marines down.

"Wow!" Coby said in awe, "He's incredible!"

"That's fairly accurate…" I mumbled.

"What the devil are you?" asked Zoro as he stood back up.

"I'm a rubber man!"

"So your devil fruit allows you stretch?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow. "And you have rubber-like qualities?"

"Yup," said a grinning Luffy. "I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit."

Okay, blunt objects can't do damage 'cause they'll just bounce off? So if he was hit by a cannonball, would it do the same? What about punches and kicks? Did they cause any actual damage? Probably not. That's actually pretty impressive. Kinda makes me wonder what else he's capable of.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Morgan bellowed again. "All you cowards whining just now, will shoot themselves in the head!"

I really need to start paying attention to these things…

"I WON'T TOLERATE DEFEATIST IN MY OUTFIT! On my order, fire!"

Some of the men actually started to point guns to their heads. It shocked me that they would actually listen to such a request.

"There's something wrong with those marines," said Zoro, about to intervene, that is till Luffy took off running.

"Hey!" he called to Morgan. "**I'm **your enemy! Try putting** me **to death!" he lunged at the captain and his fist collided with the giant axe with a loud 'whun'.

"Luffy! Destroy this lousy Navy!" screeched Coby. I felt myself relax as the situation seemed taken care of.

"You have neither rank nor status!" said Morgan as he tossed away his coat. How he managed to get it over that axe without ripping it, I have no clue. "I'll teach you to defy your betters! I'M CAPTAIN 'AXE-HAND' MORGAN!"

"I'm Luffy, nice to meet you."

The marine swung his axe, Luffy jumping in the air to dodge, and sliced through the fence horizontally, getting not only the fence but the whole wall too.

"Damn, that's sharp," I said as I moved to lean against Zoro's old poles.

Since Luffy was in the air, he took the advantage and planted both his feet into Morgan's face then pushing off and back-flipping to the ground. The boy landed in a fluid crouch as the marine crashed onto his back, none too gently. The marine soldiers seemed to be shocked that the man they feared was getting the piss beat outta him by a little twig like Luffy.

"Boy," said Morgan as he stood back up. He raised his axe above his head, "I sentence you to DEATH!"

He brought it down, but the boy dodged again at the last second, twisting into the air. "I'm not going to die," he grinned right before he smashed his foot into the man's face. The blond fell to the ground.

"He's so strong!" gasped Coby. The other sailors were just as surprised. The rubber pirate landed above the fallen marine and grabbed his collar, "You and your navy are ruining Coby's dream!"

I let out a sigh, before I facepalmed. My guard should have been up but, of course, I was distracted.

"STOP!"

Luffy glanced up then punched Morgan one last time. I smirked lightly.

"I said stop, you idiot!" That paranoid fools son, Helmeppo AKA the butt-munch, had finally showed up. "One false move and four eyes get's it!" he said as he held a pistol to Coby's head.

I narrowed my eyes; the gun was shaking. That meant the blond had never taken a life or was unstable. I would say both. This was a delicate situation.

"Luffy!' Coby called. "Don't let him win because of me! Let them kill me!"

I must say I was impressed. Who knew my little friend had a backbone?

"You're a good guy Coby," Luffy grinned. Guess I wasn't the only one. "Hey idiot-son-of-the-captain! Coby means it!"

"Hey! I told you not to move or I'd shoot!" cried Helmeppo as Luffy drew a fist back. "Fine! I'll just shoot him then!"

My eyes shot to the shadow that was looming over the rubber man. I was about to move when Zoro gave me a look. I nodded but stayed tense, ready to move.

"You've assaulted an officer of the Navy!" bellowed Morgan as he raised his axe above Luffy's head.

"Gum-Gum…"

Zoro put his white sword back in his mouth.

'Daddy! Kill him!"

"…PISTOL!"

Luffy's fist connected with Helmeppo, causing him to fly back unconscious. Since I was watching my captain, I didn't really catch what Zoro did to Morgan. I only saw the blond man unconscious on the ground.

"Nice one, Zoro."

"No problem, _Captain._"

I smiled at my two new crewmates then glanced at the stunned marines.

"The captain lost!" one cried.

"Captain Morgan's been defeated!" cried another.

I walked over to Coby to see if he was alright.

"Any of you still wanna capture us?" I heard Zoro ask as I carefully pulled the boy to his feet. I glanced over when the officers threw down their arms and cheered.

"They're happy we defeated their captain?" asked Luffy puzzled.

"It simply means the captain was ruling in fear," I said s we walked over to them.

Suddenly, Zoro collapsed. I told him it wasn't about willpower.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"I'm stuffed!" smiled a very happy swordsman. "Not eating for nine days is harder than I though.'

"I told you," I said smugly as I finished off my plate.

"Lightweight," Luffy muttered as he finished of his sixth plate.

"How can you be hungrier than me?" asked Zoro incredulously.

"Ah, the mysteries of the ocean," I sighed.

"Thank you for feeding us ma'am," said Coby sheepishly.

"It's the least I can do! After all you four saved the town!" replied Rika's mother with a smile as she took our dishes.

So yes, we were at Rika's, the little girl who we met. Luffy and I carried Zoro's unconscious body here to where we were welcome with open arms. Luffy had wake-up duty while I treated Coby's bullet wound. It was not easy to get out… but he was a brave little scout and attempted to hide it from the others. Even if he tried he couldn't hide it from me, because I was always the one to treat his injuries. So Rika's mother gave us food in thanks for saving the town. It annoyed me that I couldn't get a hit in though.

"That's suicide!" yelped Coby. "There are only three of you! If you go there, you'll just be sailing to your deaths!"

Goddamns! I have to stop spacing out!

"Well, I guess if we're after the 'One Piece', the Grand Line is where we have to go," shrugged Zoro.

"Zoro!" Coby cried. "You agree with him! Azure, please, talk some sense into them!"

"I can't," I said grinning. "The One Piece, the best swordsman, my treasure; all our dreams are on the Grand Line. If we die, so be it. But I'm not going down without one hell of a fight." Coby stared at me in awe, they all did. Did I say something wrong?

But then he frowned, "But I'm worried!" he cried. "Is it so wrong to worry about my friends?"

My eyes softened. He always did worry too much.

"Luffy, we haven't known each other for very long but we're friends, aren't we?"

"We're going our separate ways, but we'll always be friends."

The boys' eyes widened then turned to me. I grinned, "We we're friends before we met these nut-jobs and will be until we kick the bucket."

"Azure, you're the first real friend I ever had. No one else stuck up for me; even I wouldn't stick up for me. But, the three of you taught me to fight for what I believe in."

"That's why I'm going to the Grand Line." Luffy said blatantly.

"Makes sense to me," shrugged the swordsman.

"We have no choice," I smiled.

"That's not what I— I'm trying to convince you that's its too reckless!"

"What about **your **plans?" asked Zoro as he poked Coby in the head with the hilt of his sword.

"Huh?" was the intelligent reply.

"You were cabin boy on Alvida's's ship for two years" he said. "Watch out for Navy intelligence. If they do a background check, they won't let you enlist."

Well shit…

At that very moment, there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal a marine officer. Now that I looked, there were dozens of them outside.

"You gentlemen are pirates, correct?" said an officer as he walked in. I coughed and glared at him. Did I look like a man? They didn't seem to notice as Luffy responded.

"That's right, I have two crewmen now! Which makes me a genuine pirate captain!"

"I see," said the marine as he adjusted his hat. "We are truly grateful that you saved our base and town. However, we are still marines and thus cannot shelter pirate. I'm sorry, but I must ask you to leave. To show our gratitude, we won't report you to headquarters."

The villagers outside started to riot. I piled up our dishes and stood. "Thanks for the heads up," I smiled.

Luffy stood next, "Guess we'll be going then. Thanks for the meal ma'am."

Rika's mother nodded in slight surprise. "You're leaving already?" asked the little girl.

I nodded with a small smile as I slung my bag over my shoulder. Zoro had gotten up without a word and we all walked to the exit. It seemed right to leave this way, not saying goodbye. That seemed too final. The sea is vast, I knew I'd run into the boy again on the waters.

"I'm not one of them!"

"Excuse me, pirates?" called the marine. "Is that true?"

We turned around and Luffy caught me off guard. "Let me explain, I know all about his past."

I raised an eyebrow. He wouldn't… Coby looked stunned.

"See, there was this secret island and a really big pirate lady. I think her name is Alvida's," Luffy continued as Coby gasped. "She was really mean. Anyway, for two years he—"

"SHUT UP!"

Coby yelled as he punched Luffy in the face. Tch, I get it… nice."

"Why you!" yelled Luffy as he returned the favor. "Take that! And that!"

"Enough!" bellowed the marine. "Stop disturbing the peace!"

"Hey, hey," Zoro pulled at Luffy collar. "That's enough."

Coby fell to the ground. I smirked and picked up the fallen straw hat.

"It's clear you're not friends! Please leave town! NOW!"

My smirk turned into a grin as I gave my captain his hat then slipped my hands into my pockets as we left.

"Catch us if you can," Zoro taunted.

The trip to the dock was short and quiet. I dropped my bag into the small boat. "That was some horrible acting Luffy; not you're calling. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw right through it."

"It's all up to Coby now," he replied with a smile. 'He'll get in somehow."

"Well, it's a good time to leave," said Zoro. "Everybody hates us, the way a pirate should go."

Both of us laughed. "I guess that's true," said Luffy as I nodded.

"L-Luffy! Azure!"

We looked up to see a panting Coby. He pulled himself straight and saluted.

"Thank you very much Cap'n Luffy, Azure. I'll never forget what you've done for me!"

"That's a new one," smirked Zoro. "Pirates saluted by a marine."

I went to untie the boat as the two hopped in.

"We'll meet again Coby!" yelled Luffy as he waved, grinning like a fool.

"Who knows!" I yelled grinning as I pushed off. "You might just catch us!"

That caused my crewmates and the boy to chuckle. I grinned as I set the sail.

"We're on our way! TO THE GRAND LINE!"

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><p><strong>I shall try my damndest to get the next one out for New Year's but as usual, I make no promises. <strong>

**Thank you for being patient with me :)**

**See you lot soon!**


	4. Chapter 4: Thief in Broad Daylight

**Hello dear readers~!**

**Welcome to me next installment of _Ocean __Soul_! Thank you to all those who have faved and put this fic on story alert. And the Rievews are nice too ^3^**

**Now, I feel I should mention a few things... Firstly, I am following the manga, buying it actually. However, there are parts in the anime that I love and/or are important to this story, so they will be put in here.**

**Second, I plan on seeing this thing till the end. But since it's so damn long (love it anyway XD), I might have to separate into different parts. Though I get the feeling that by the time Azure gets to Fishman Island, Luffy will have found the One Piece and he will do it! :D**

**Finally, I think (it's 4am, cut me some slack), I have a poll on my profile: Should I upload _Ocean Soul_ onto Deviantart? Please help me let me know.**

**Anyway, read, review, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4 ~ Thief in Broad Daylight<span>

"I'm starving!"

I sighed as Luffy started up again. It had been two days since we left the base and unfortunately we finished our rations last night. No thanks to our captain.

"Don't you think it's strange that you can't navigate?" asked Zoro skeptically.

"Nope," replied Luffy from his spot beside me. "Drifting has always been pretty good for me. What about you? You're supposed to be the 'Holy Terror' of the seas!"

"I don't ever remember calling myself that," Zoro retorted as he leaned back. "I followed a pirate out to sea, but I couldn't find my way back to my village. So I made the best of things and went after pirates in the area. Had to earn money somehow."

"So you're just lost," Luffy and I said in chorus.

"You don't have to put it like that!" yelled the swordsman. I snickered. "Can you?"

I closed my book and glanced at the man. He cocked an eyebrow questioningly, as if waiting for me to admit to failure. Luffy was just watching expectantly. I sighed and looked at the sun.

"All I know is that we're going east and that it's around noon."

"How do you know we're going east?" asked Luffy as his head tilted in confusion. I was adorable, I must say.

"I was up at dawn," I replied. Then after a second, "Did you know you guys sleep like logs? I mean, I was in for an hour and you were still out by the time I was dry."

"Huh?" I see I confused them… not that hard to comprehend I don't think.

"I went for a swim," I replied. "I'm a deep seas diver; been doing it since I was little. You find so many cool things below the surface! And, since I've been doing it for so long, I can go far deeper than most. I found three sunken treasures when I was with Alvida."

"Really!" exclaimed Luffy. He seemed particularly happy. "You can go that deep?"

I grinned widely. The ocean was my life, it was one of the reasons I had set out to the sea. I can't stand long periods on land. Although, that might be because I had never stayed on an island for more than four months growing up. My foster parents had made sure we were always moving.

"What about Sea Kings?"

"What about them? They're easy to take care of," I waved the moss-head off. "Not the point here. Luffy, we need to find a navigator or else we'll never reach the Grand Line."

"She's right," sighed Zoro. "Finding one should be our top priority."

Luffy nodded and grinned, "And we need a cook, and a musician, and—"

"Those can wait!" we yelled in annoyance. I put my book on marine wildlife in my bag as the two flopped onto their backs.

"So hungry…" I rolled my eyes at them. I mean, I'm hungry too but complaining about it isn't going to suddenly make food appear.

"Hey, look," we looked to the captain as he squinted his eyes in the sun. "It's a bird."

"Your point?"

"It looks pretty big," commented Zoro.

"I know!" said Luffy as he jumped up. "Let's eat it?"

"How?" He's not planning anything stupid is he?

"Leave it to me! I'll catch it! Gum-Gum..." he stretched his hands up to grab the top of the mast. "Rocket!" and went flying up towards the bird.

"Oh…"

"Okay," Zoro said as he went to shield his eyes. Thing is, Luffy didn't come down right away as he should have. Instead…

"HELP!"

"**YOU IDIOT!**" we bellowed as our 'captain' got carried off by our lunch.

Zoro grabbed the oars and started rowing like a madman. "Dammit! What are you doing!"

I facepalmed; what the hell did I get myself into?

With his crazy rowing speed, we came across some people in the water. "Ahoy! Wait!"

"Shipwreck survivors?" I asked. They couldn't be... there was no debris. Thrown overboard?

"At a time like this?" growled the swordsman. "Can't stop," he called. "Just grab on and climb in!"

As we passed, the tree men hurried to grab onto our boat. "Congrats on making it!" I grinned.

"You would have left us to die!" they yelped.

"Probably… we're in kinda a rush." I said propping my head in my right hand.

"What kind of people are you!" one huffed.

My grinned broadened. "One of a kind."

After they caught their breath, the one with the hat brandished a knife. "Stop the boat. We're pirates of Buggy the Clown."

"Huh?" Zoro looks rather evil right now…

"Keep going," I sighed. The moss-head gave me a look, then nodded. There wasn't a lot of room to move in, if I wasn't careful, we would capsize.

The man with the hat growled and lunged. I dodge his blade to the right and twisted around to give him a roundhouse kick to the side of the head. Then I dragged my leg down, bringing him with it as he faceplanted into the deck. The other two didn't seem too happy. The dude with the ginger afro came up behind me. I shot my arm back, elbowing him in the diaphragm and spun to punch him in the face before he could recover. He went down too. My body tensed again as the round one came up from my left. I sidestepped as he went to punch me but grabbed his arm and flipped him. Just before he would have hit the deck of the small boat, I kneed him in the chest before I dangled him over the water.

"You know, I can just leave you guys out here, right?" I said as I made two fingers let go of his large wrist.

"W-wait!"

"Hey Azure," I turned to the smirking swordsman. "I have a better idea."

And so, we made them row. "We're very sorry Mr. Pirate Hunter Zoro, sir! We deeply apologize Miss Azure! We didn't realize who you were!"

I stuck out my tongue, "You made us lose our friend."

"Keep rowing," ordered Zoro. "If there's land nearby, he'll get there."

"So how did you lot end up in the middle of the ocean?" I asked.

"I'll tell you how!" said the one with the hat. "Thanks for reminding us!"

Basically, after looting some ship, they came across a girl nearly dead in a boat. She had offered them her treasure in exchange for some water. But she tricked them and stole their boat and treasure. She had predicted a squall, which had caused the boat to capsize.

"Amazing," said Zoro after their tale. "She used the weather to her own advantage. She must really know the seas."

"Good navigator material," I nodded in agreement.

"She'd make a good corpse!" growled the ginger afro.

"Cap'n Buggy will be furious if we return empty-handed," said the round one worriedly.

"Who's this Buggy guy anyway?" asked the swordsman.

"Only the most ferocious pirate in these parts!" claimed the one with the hat. "Haven't you heard of Buggy the Clown? He ate a Devil Fruit!"

"Devil Fruit?"

Now, in case you're wondering, I should probably explain what the Devil Fruits are. They're a mysterious type of fruit that grants whoever eats it strange and terrible powers. They come in various shapes and colours but they supposedly all taste horrible. And even though they give you insane abilities, like a rubber body or the ability to sprout wings, they all have the same weakness; they can no longer swim, become too heavy for their bodies to move and sink. I've traveled my whole life so I've seen a few Devil Fruit users.

I sighed as I settled by the edge of the boat, leaning over to watch the waves as my left hand grazed the surface. For some reason I felt tired. Maybe it was the gentle rocking of the waves, the warm sun of the cool water lapping at my fingers. From what I could tell, the pirates knew where they were going and Zoro can keep them in line. I yawned slightly.

"Hey Zoro?" I called.

I could fell his eyes on me. "I is going for a nap. Wake me up when we get there, 'kay?"

He grunted and I took that as his response as I drifted off to Lala-land.

* * *

><p>I growled as something, which felt suspiciously like the sheath of a sword, poke my side.<p>

"We're here," said the swordsman, stating the obvious. I groaned as the sun assaulted my eyes. I pushed away from the edge and stretched my stiff limbs, a yawn escaping my lips. I blinked away the sleep and noticed the three stooges tying the boat to the dock.

"This is it Master Zoro, Miss Azure," the round one said politely.

"It looks like a ghost town," mumbled the moss-head. A town this size should be filled with people this time of day. "Where is everyone?"

The three paused of a moment, as if weighing their options. "Well you see sir, we've taken over the town," said the large one with a sheepish grin.

I frowned. Did that mean the villagers were dead? I certainly hope not. Though I may be a pirate, I frown upon hurting the innocent.

"We'll just have to tell him the truth," said the hatted on. "It's all that girls fault anyway!"

I pulled my bandana from my pocket and tied it to my head. "Well take us too your captain."

Zoro nodded, "Maybe he's seen Luffy."

So we followed the tree into town until we could no longer see the docks. They stopped for a second before the one with the hat spoke up, "See the tallest building ahead?" we both glanced in said direction. "That's the tavern. We've kinda taken up shop there. The captain is usually partying with the crew on the roof."

I nodded then noticed that they weren't planning on going with us. "And what will you be doing?"

"We're going back to the docks to wait for the thief," said the one with the hat.

"And we don't want to deal with the cap 'n's wrath," said the ginger. I cocked an eyebrow at their cowardice and shrugged; not my problem.

With that, we walked towards the tavern… well I did. My eyes widened at the sheer idiocy that was Zoro. I mean, how can he go in the wrong direction when the inn was right in front of us? I can understand how he can lost at sea; not being a navigator, but this was ridiculous. I has no idea ones sense of direction could be so shot!

"Zoro?" I called facepalming.

"What?"

"It's this way…" I jerked a thumb behind me. He blinked for a moment before frowning and following me, finally going the right way.

Walking up to it, the tavern was three story building with fencing around the edge of a flat roof. The sign along the second floor railing read 'the Drinkers Pub' and there seemed to be a party going on the roof. As we drew near, my body tensed; something was coming. My instincts proved right when a loud shot resounded and instantly blew up on the left side of the inn. I ended up turning to the side and brought my arms up to shield me from the blast.

When it had died down, I chanced a look. Holy… shit… The buildings were gone, leveled, nothing but a burnt pile of wood now.

"What the hell was that?" I turned to my crewmate who, while rather stoic, I could see the surprise on his face.

"Smells like trouble to me," I said turning towards the tavern. I grinned, "Let's go!"

We sped towards the building and up the stairs to the landing. The bar had two pieces that jutted outward from the rest, probably giving their respective rooms more space. With enough lift, I should be able to grab the roof; I'm kinda short we see.

I ran at the furthest wall piece and jumped, planting my foot and pushing off, the twisted myself so I could grab the roofs edge. I smirked as I easily pulled myself up. I grinned down at the swordsman and extended my hand. He scowled but took my hand anyway. Although heavy, he was fairly easy to pull up.

We crawled up the slanted roof, making sure to keep low. The cheers of the seemed to be about… killing someone? Sigh, what else is new?

Peeking over the rail was quite a sight. Where to start? Well the Buggy Pirates seemed to follow a circus theme from there getup. I could also see Buggy—and true to his name—he looked like a clown; what with the face-paint, the big red nose and an orange captain's hat. A few things seemed a little off though; one being a girl with orange hair and a bo staff whose back was to us, standing beside a large cannon. She didn't seem to fit the theme. Second, was the large cannon, which I assume was the one who leveled the block, was pointed at a cage. It was what was in the cage that had me worried. My captain all tied up, in a cage, chewing on the bars to escape.

How does he manage these things?

"Looks like we found him," muttered Zoro. He made to stand but I quickly yanked him down by his haramaki. "What the hell?" he whispered.

"Let's just wait a second," I murmured keeping my eyes on the pirates.

"I just got carried away!" the girl called. "I just don't want to become a low-down murderer like any of you! YOU PIRATES TOOK SOMEONE DEAR TO ME! I'LL NEVER BECOME WHAT I HATE!"

"So that's why you hate pirates," said Luffy from the cage. Then he yelped, which is very odd for him, "The fuse is lit!"

Shwha?

The long fuse was indeed lit and was slowly burning along. Luffy actually seemed afraid as he started to chew the bars with renewed vigor.

"Uh-oh, I'm gonna die!"

"Little girl, you tried to make a fool out if me," said Buggy. "And for that you die!"

Some of the pirates came at the girl, knives and swords at the ready. She glanced at the fuse and bit her bottom lip as if weighing the odds. She grit her teeth as the pirates attacked and swung her staff. Her eyes widened as all four jumped out of the way.

"You missed!" one called as they went to attack again. She ducked to the right and threw her staff, then bolted over to the cannon.

Whatever she was going to do, I didn't expect what she did.

The fuse was burning dangerously close to the cannon, Luffy was almost through one of the bars—which really says something, I think those bars are iron or something— and the girl? The girl had rushed over the fuse and snuffed it out with her bare hands. She let out a muffled cry as it burned her.

"Hey!" called Luffy. "Behind you!"

A blur from my right.

"How many pirates does it take to handle one girl!" someone called and BAM!

I giggled as I watch the scene unfold. The four pirates had run straight into the side of Zoro's swords, knocking themselves out in the process. Those retards…

"Zoro!" Luffy grinned in relief. "Phew, glad you found me! Now get me outa here!"

"Always fooling around," said Zoro as he tapped a sword on his shoulder. "First you fly off with a bird and now playing in a cage…idiot!"

"It's an interesting story actually," said Luffy.

I sweatdroped, these guys... I slipped my bandana from my head and tied it around my wrist, I then managed to find a hair elastic in a pocket. As I'm tying my hair up, I realize something; the little idiot didn't even ask about me.

"Hey Zoro," asked Luffy, "Where's Azure?"

"Gee, thanks Captain," I sighed as I sat cross-legged on top of the cage. This was a fine predicament.

"So, you're Roronoa Zoro, eh?" Buggy said smugly. But that conversation didn't seem that important as I actually managed to get a good look at the girl 'we' saved.

This girl was slightly taller than my 5'6'' with orange hair cut just above the shoulders and curled out a bit at the ends, pushed behind her right ear while a small part fell in front of her left ear. She had brown eyes and was wearing a white V-neck t-shirt with two blue stripes at the neckline, two stripes at the end of each sleeve and three stripes around the middle. The shirt was pretty long, coming down past her hips. She also wore a very short orange skirt with two circles that were white on the outside and dark orange on the inside on the sides of the skirt and reddish-brown heeled ankle boots.

She seems familiar… huh…

"Get 'im Cap'n Buggy!" the cheers from the crew breaking my train of thought. "Cut 'im to pieces!"

There stood Buggy with four knives in one hand, held between his fingers, and one in the other. He charged, "Give me all you've got, pirate hunter, 'cause I'm about to get a look at your blood!"

"You asked for it!" Zoro drew all of his swords. The two clashed and it was easy to determine the victor because not only had Zoro cut the clown in half, but his arm and leg too.

"Hey! That was too easy!" said Luffy from beneath me.

"No way…" breathed the girl as she processed what had happened wide-eyes.

"There has to be a trick," I muttered as his crew started to laugh. Why would a crew laugh at their fallen captain?

"Oi, Zoro! Get me outta here!"

The swordsman sighed as he made his way over. The crew started to laugh louder. I looked back over to where the pirate had fallen and noticed something odd; no blood, or innards for that matter. Another oddity was that his hands had yet to release the knives. That's impossible. Then I remembered what the three stooges had said and it made sense. My eyes widened.

"Zoro!" I yelled, "Devil Fruit!"

My warning came too late as the swordsman's eyes went wide. He got stabbed in the side by… by… by a floating hand! He fell to his knees as blood flew from his lips.

"Zoro!" Luffy and I shouted.

"What the— That hand—!" said the girl in utter shock.

"What's going on!" gasped Zoro as he pushed the blade out. He managed to spin and draw a sword to bat the knife away.

"The chop-chop fruit…" I grit me teeth when Buggy spoke as his pieces reattached themselves. "Is the Devil Fruit that I ate! You can slice and dice me but you can't kill me! I'M A CHOP-CHOP MAN!"

"Chop-chop man!" exclaimed Luffy. "That guy's a freak!"

I sweatdroped. "Look who's talking…"

"Roronoa Zoro! You never had a chance! Looks like I missed your vitals, but you still took a serious wound!"

I watched as Zoro put pressure on his bleeding side and the girl looked like she was having a mental break down.

"Captain Buggy, you're the greatest!" his crew praised. "Finish him!"

I hopped down from my perch and got ready. The girl seemed to have some fighting skill, but not enough to beat these guys; Zoro is severely wounded and Luffy's in a cage. Now, how am I going to get us out of this one?

Luffy growled, "Stabbing someone in the back, that's fighting dirty. You got that big nose!"

There was a collective gasp. Apparently calling out Buggy's nose was suicide.

"You idiot!" yelled the ginger. "That's the one thing you never—"

"YOU DARE CALL ME BIG NOSE!" roared Buggy as his arm detached and flew towards the cage with a sharp pointy knife.

"LUFFY!"

"I swear," Luffy lifted his head, showing that he had caught the knife in his mouth, and snapped his teeth together, breaking it in half. "I'm gonna clobber you!"

"Clobber me?" the clown burst into laughter. "Don't make me laugh! You four are about to die!"

"It's hopeless, we're dead…" mumbled the girl. Talk about a pessimist.

The rubber-man just laughed, "No way! I'm not going to die!"

"And just how do you plan to clobber me now? Ain't that a laugh, boys?" the Buggy pirates just laughed at our misfortune.

"ZORO! AZURE! RUN!"

"What!" gasped the swordsman. "I'm not going anywhere! We're trying to save you! They'll kill you the moment we go!" then he paused for a second. Luffy just smiled. I grinned as I understood the plan. Zoro smirked, "Oh… gotcha…"

Apparently the girl didn't because it looked like she was about to have a panic-attack.

"Roronoa Zoro! You won't get away so easily! CHOP-CHOP CANNON!"

Buggy's arms fly towards Zoro, each with a knife. Zoro fended off the hands with two swords, using his other hand to staunch the bleeding. I snatched the matchbox from the girl as the swordsman made it to the cannon and sheathed his blades. He then grabbed the nose of the cannon and heaved, with an amazing feat of strength, making it point towards the Buggy pirates. I couldn't stand in shock like the others and moved quickly to light the short fuse.

Cue enemy freak-out.

"Ah! The cannon's pointed at us!"

"And it's loaded with a Buggy Ball!"

"NO!" Thundered the clown before the cannon went off, causing a huge smoke screen.

"Now's our chance," panted Zoro as he caught his breath. He looked to the ginger. "Who're you anyway?"

"I'm a thief," she said before looking at me. It looked as if she was trying to see if she knew me, I hope she did cause the thief bit sounds familiar.

"Actually," said Luffy still in his cage, "that's Nami, our new navigator!"

My eyes widened again. Holy shit!

"**It's you!**" we said together as we pointed at each other.

"You're that thief I saved!"

"Saved! You nearly got me killed!"

"Only 'cause you wouldn't leave the damn gold!"

"It was MY gold!"

"Who's stupid enough to try and take gold from an active, about to erupt, volcano!" *****

"Enough!" yelled the swordsman. "Solve this later!"

"Sorry," I mumbled apologetically. I took a deep breath to calm myself then glanced down at Luffy. "Hey, how ya doing?"

"I'm okay, wish I could get out though," he shifted a bit before smiling.

"No problem," Zoro smirked. "You just stay in the cage."

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Buggy exclaimed, even though he couldn't see with all the smoke.

I sighed at the sad clown then squatted down next to the bars. "Luffy, move over this way."

He looked at me for a second before shuffling over to me. I pulled out my knife —which is more a dagger then a knife— and cut the ropes around his torso and wrists then moved to the one binding his feet.

"Thanks," he grinned as I put my pretty dagger away. I nodded and moved out of the way so Zoro could do whatever he had planned.

I backed up unintentionally as Zoro began to lift the cage to his shoulder. Is he insane? He could hurt himself more then he already is!

"Zoro, don't do this!" Luffy protested, clearly worried about his friend. "Your guts'll squirt out!"

"Then I'll just shove 'em back in!"

"How can you do this?" gasped Nami.

"Zoro, this really isn't the best—"

"I do things my own way!" he growled as he steadied the cage, his side bleeding more with strain. "So don't gimme any lip about it!"

I sighed. If he really wanted to do it this way, I could have used a less painful method. Although, then my little 'secret' of sorts would be exposed. That's not a good thing; not at all. So I just went with it and followed Zoro, keeping a watchful eye on him.

* * *

><p><strong>* There's a volcano in the East Blue, dammit!<strong>

**Anyway, I'm going to sleep for an hour before i have to get ready for school. Night :)**

**Silver**


	5. Chapter 5: Fire

**HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY LUFFY!**

**I wanted to have this out tuesday (May 15th) to celebrate, but I had forgotten to save the chapter on my USB.**

**Okay, I'm ready for you all to kill me in just about any way you see fit. I know you guys don't care much for excuses considering it's been, like, 4 months - but some of it is valid.**

**My mother was in the hospital, her boyfriend was also (he's now what I affectionately call a pirate), a whole bunch of family issues, lack of material for writting (my friend borrowed/stole my manga for 3 weeks) and my lack of will to write.**

**Now there are 2 more chapters of this arc (one I have yet to write), then we can move on!**

**I truly am sorry for not posting sooner.**

**Enjoy :3**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5 ~ Fire<span>

"We should be far enough from that tavern," I said walking backwards with my hands folded behind my head.

"Yeah," huffed Zoro. "They won't catch up to us anytime soon."

"At least for now. So what are we gonna do about the cage?" I asked raising a brow.

"I can't do anything stuck in this thing!" growled Luffy as he shook the bars.

Then, all of a sudden, Zoro – who had been dragging the cage despite my offer to help – collapsed on the ground. "It's no use… lost to much blood… got… to… rest…"

Maybe he wouldn't be bleeding so much if he hadn't strained his wound. I rolled my eyes and took a seat on the step of the building we stopped in front of. A pet store actually, with a small white dog sitting in front, not moving.

"Doggy!" smiled Luffy as he shuffled the cage closer. "Is it real? It's not moving…"

"Who cares?" said the swordsman as he pulled himself to lean against the support beam. "It's his business whether he moves or not. Ours is to get you out of there."

As Zoro was talking, Luffy had been stretching his face, trying to get a reaction from the dog. It was weird but really cool.

The dog was still motionless, causing the rubber man to ask if the thing was dead and poked the pup in the eye. That got a reaction… the dogs teeth clamped down on his face. Zoro paused for a moment in shock before yelling at Luffy to stop playing around as the kid tried to get the dog off his face. It didn't help that I was laughing my ass off. It was hilarious! You just don't see it every day.

"Dumb dog…" Luffy mumbled as he lay in his cage, after I had stopped giggling and pried the mutt off.

"Blood… lost too much…" panted Zoro as he flopped on his back. I just sat beside the dog, gently petting him.

"I don't mean to criticize, but is this the best hiding place you could come up with?"

I looked to see Nami. I smiled, "The best place to hide is often in plain sight. Although, this wasn't my idea."

The guys looked up, "Hey, it's our navigator!"

"I never agreed to that!" she yelled. She took a deep breath then continued. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me."

"Thank us?" A key landed by the cage.

"The key!" grinned Luffy. "You stole the key to the cage!"

"Yeah sure," the thief rolled her eyes. "I got the stupid key but I left all the treasure and the map."

"This is great!" his grinned widened. "I thought I'd never get out of here!"

"Then the rescue was a success after all…" smirked the Zoro as he sat up to lean against the beam.

I grinned and was about to restart petting the dog, when it moved from my reach… and swallowed the key…

My jaw dropped a bit and I think I stopped breathing. That was **not** how you get revenge! Okay, maybe it was, but now was so not the time! Apparently, I wasn't the only one to think so. Luffy had reached out and started to strangle the animal. Poor things eyes were popping out.

"Cough it up! That's not food! Gimme that key!"

We just kinda watched, unsure of what to do.

"Dern whipper-snappers! Don't you pick on poor Chouchou!"

We looked up to see an old man with odd hair, decked out in armor with a spear on his back.

"Chouchou?" asked Nami. I think I just made my rhyme of the day.

"Who are you, old man?" I shook my head at Zoro's less than respectful tone.

"Who am I? I'm the mayor of this town, that's who!" replied the old man, then he caught a glimpse at the swordsman's wounds. "My, my, quite the injury you have there. I take it you had a run-in with Captain Buggy. We need to take you to a doctor!"

"I'm fine," said Zoro, but it's hard to believe someone who was obviously lying.

"How can you be fine after something like that?" Nami challenged with her hands on her hips.

"At least, let's bandage you up," replied the mayor.

The swordsman grunted. I stood to help Nami and the old man get the moss-head on his feet. They seemed to have him steady before I let go.

"She's got burns on her hand," I smiled to the mayor. "Make sure they get looked at."

"You're not coming?" asked the ginger.

"You guys got 'im," I said. "Besides, someone's to keep an eye on Luffy."

"He's in a cage…" said Nami, "How much trouble could he get in to?"

I rolled my eyes, "You'd be surprised…"

They hobbled off, leaving Chouchou, Luffy and myself.

"Hey puppy," I said crouching. "Want me to get you some food?"

He watched me for a moment then licked my hand. Apparently, he approved.

"Why are you giving him food?" asked Luffy as he held the bars.

"Because," I said as I walked to the pet shop door. "If it won't come out one way, it'll come out the other." I walked into the shop and was surprised to see that it looked like it hadn't been manned in a while. I sighed as I found two empty blows near the door. After looking around, I found an open bag of food near the counter and sink in the back. I came out after a minute with full bowls. "Besides, he must be hungry standing out here all day."

"Oh, okay," smiled Luffy. He moved around a little so he could lean back against the bars comfortably. He actually seemed calm, like he was taking this seriously. Or maybe he was he was thinking… yeah right. Why am I thinking about this? Maybe I'm just bored…

"Azure?"

"Hmm?" I looked to the cage, thankful for some kind of distraction.

"How do you know Nami?"

Right, I forgot. "Well, it happened about four months ago. Alvida had found some deserted island on a treasure map and had sent some people to go investigate – cause you know not all treasure maps are accurate. I had been part of that group. The map turned out to be out of date because we didn't find anything, except maybe the fruit in the trees. One of the others spotted a small boat on the opposite side of the island, so I went to check it out. Turned out the ship had landed while we were searching so I followed the footprints that led into the mountain.

"I found Nami, beside a hole in the ground with a chest full of gold. She had been counting it, so she didn't hear me approach. Then the mountain began to shake. Turned out it was a volcano and not a mountain… Anyway, the chest – with the gold – fell back into the hole. She tried to reach for it but it was too deep without her actually going in and the lava was starting to rise. I managed to stop her and drag her ass back to her boat just as the volcano erupted. She took-off cussing up a storm and I managed to swim back to the ship."

"And that's how I lost ten million berries," sighed Nami as she walked over to us, the mayor right behind her.

"That was _so_ not worth your life," I glared at her.

"No, not mine…" she mumbled. I don't think I was meant to hear.

"Where'd you take Zoro?" asked Luffy before I could question further.

"He's resting," said the mayor. "My house is just over there. He's lost a lot of blood, but when I told him there was a doctor at the shelter, he said he just needed a little sleep!"

"Zoro _is_ an odd one," I smiled.

"I'll say," added the thief. "Mr. Mayor, why is Chouchou the only one still in town?"

"He's guarding the shop," he replied.

"Oh! So he's a guard dog!" said the ginger. "For a pet food store…?"

The mayor nodded, "A good friend of mine owned this store. I just came to feed him, but it seems you did that for me."

"Sorry," I smiled apologetically.

"That's quite alright Miss," he replied. "I'm just surprised is all. Old Chouchou isn't too kind to strangers."

"Oh," was all I could say. "Why is he guarding the shop?"

"About ten years ago, my friend and Chouchou opened this little shop," he replied, his tone nostalgic. "They've got alot memories here – and so do I. See those wounds; he's been fighting them pirates, protecting his store."

"I'm sure this shop means a lot to his master, but this is just cruel," said Nami. "Is he at the refugee shelter with the others?"

"No he's not," replied the old man as he watched the dog, lighting his pipe. "He got sick and passed on."

No way…

"He went to the hospital three months ago."

My hand found its way to the dogs' fur. I know he didn't need sympathy or pity but I couldn't help comforting the poor thing.

"The poor thing. You mean to say that he's been waiting for his master to come home this whole time?"

"That's what people say, but that's not what I think," he smiled lightly. "Chouchou's a smart dog; I think he knows his master is dead."

"Then why does he still guard the store?" asked the thief.

"Because, this is his master's store, it's–"

"His treasure," I replied quietly.

The mayor nodded. "Chouchou guards the store because all it's all he has left of his beloved master. I've been trying to get him to the shelter but he won't budge from this spot. He'd rather starve to death then leave his post."

Then, there was a loud roar, breaking our quiet moment. It sounded like a large jungle cat. But if I remember right, there aren't any in this Blue…

"The hell was that!" I asked standing.

"I-it must be Mohji, the Lion Tamer!" cried the mayor. He grabbed both mine and Nami's wrists and made a mad dash for cover.

"W-wait!" I yelled as I was dragged away.

He pulled us nearly two blocks away and ducked behind a building. I was about to chew the old man out when a growling came from where we came. I peeked out from around the corner and saw how big the kitty was.

And damn was it! The lion was twice as tall as Luffy's cage and had a man sitting on his back. The man, whom I assuming is Mohji, was wearing the weirdest get-up ever; white furry boots with what looked like claws, blue pants, a yellow sash, a white furry crop-top and a white furry hat that had ears on them. So weird…

"Costume! This is manly hair!" said the man as he pointed to his head.

Oh god…

"That just makes it weirder." I heard Luffy say. I couldn't help it; I burst into a fit of giggles. Only Luffy could be so blunt.

"Why is Luffy provoking him?" shuddered Nami. "And why are you laughing!" she smacked me in the back of the head.

"Is that boy addle-brained?" shivered the mayor as I nursed my sore head. All of a sudden, Chouchou bit the man's arm, causing me to smile.

From what we could hear, which wasn't much, the man was looking for Zoro.

"No," was all he said.

"Then die! Get him, Richie!"

The massive cat jumped the cage, and pretty much destroyed it! I mean, the bars were steel – the base cement – and he tore it apart like it was nothing.

"The cage!"

"Holy Shit!"

"That boy's a goner!"

"Yeah! I'm free!" chuckled Luffy before Richie stuck him with his paw, tossing him through the building across the road. The broken building lost its foundation in the crash, falling on itself to keep it up.

"Come on," I said pulling the tow away. "Let's go around and get Luffy."

"No way your friend survived that!" said the old man sadly.

"He went through a freaking building!" Nami threw her free hand in the air.

I turned to them and grinned, "He's fine, you'll see."

They gave each other a skeptical looks clearly questioning my sanity. I let go of them and let the mayor lead the way. It **was **his town after all.

After a few minutes, we found a familiar straw hat.

"Hey!" I called

Luffy looked up in mild surprise. Nami and the mayor on the other hand, complete and utter disbelief. You know, people should believe me more.

"You're alive!" cried the senior.

"How could you survive that!" yelled Nami angrily.

"No big deal," he shrugged.

"But _how_?" she asked slightly ticked while pointing at the fallen building. "Your body just demolishes a building and you walk away without a scratch! That's crazy!"

"Crazy is good," he told her. I smirked.

"Why did you come here" the mayor asked softly. "Why take on pirates?"

I was about to say it was an accident but my captain beat me to the punch. "I just figured out why I'm here," he replied.

I cocked an eyebrow. '_Then enlighten those who haven't_'I thought.

"I'm after a map of the Grand Line and a navigator," he smiled.

I nodded slowly. So we have to get the map from Buggy and get Nami to be our navigator. Well, that sounds fun? We should probably get Zoro…

"I'm going to go look for Zoro," I said as I stretched my arms out.

"Yeah, we should find him before that weird costume guy does," said Luffy, following me.

"Don't talk crazy! Next time that lion will eat you alive!" yelled the mayor. I just waved him off.

"Do you know where you're going?" Luffy asked me as we turned the corner.

"Yeah, back to the pet shop," I replied glancing at him. "The old man said his house was near it. Zoro should still be napping."

He nodded at my logic then started to whistle some tune. I shook my head with a small smile; Luffy was something else…

Then the smell of burning wood caught my attention. It was a scent that I've grown to like, taking me back to bonfires on the beach. I breathed in contently, taking in the musky smell. I was so relaxed with it, that I didn't even question its origins.

As we past a corner, we stopped in our tracks in complete shock. It was only then that we heard the sorrowful and helpless barks.

Chouchou was barking, beaten and bloodied, as an inferno engulfed the pet shop.

My happiness shattered instantly. That… Oh, I couldn't think of a horrible enough name to call that fucking lion tamer. My bangs shadowed my eyes as I fumed, not even taking notice of the dark clouds that had suddenly rolled in. I did, however, notice the lion tracks that left the scene. As much as I wanted to break that man's face, I knew I was the only one who could put out the blaze.

"Luffy," I called quietly, "the bastard went that way. Give him a good hit for me; I'll put out the fire."

A hand came down on my shoulder and vanished after a quick squeeze, followed be the sound of running sandals. I took a deep calming breath and squared off my shoulders, then walked up to the sobbing dog.

"Chouchou," I said softly, "I need you to step back. I'll save what I can."

The look in the old dog's eyes broke my heart, but took a few steps back. I stood in front of the flames, arm bent, palms facing each other close to my body and slipping into my native tongue,

"_Aqua auxilium operae_,"

As soon as I spoke those words, I could feel the markings along my body glow and warm lightly. The water molecules in the air reacted automatically by binding together and within seconds, I'm expanding my hands to allow the water to float freely between them. Moving a hand away, I made it move towards the burning store. The water bubble did as commanded and it exploded above the blaze, easily taking out half of it.

I figured it wouldn't have been enough, so I repeated the process but made the bubble bigger. As I made the liquid fall, the fire went out, leaving nothing but charred and damp foundations.

For some reason, I felt ashamed that I hadn't reacted in time and that the smell of the burning building had made me happy.

I sighed deeply, "_Gratias ago vos_"

I turned to see that Chouchou had padded up and sat beside me. I moved to sit cross-legged next to him.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly. I frowned slightly when I saw the fresh wounds on flesh. He probably fought against that lion. "Some of those look pretty bad. Would you like me to fix you up?"

I moved my hand towards him, before he caught me by surprise and growled at me. I yanked my hand back. Did he want to bleed to death? _No,_ I realized_, battle scars… _

I sighed, "At least let me clean them up."

He nodded cautiously and moved closer. I slowly twisted my wrist, causing the water in the air to react again. I used the small amount that floated above my palm and brought it to Chouchou's injuries. As commanded, small water bubbles planted themselves on each bleeding wound; cleaning them out. The dog just sat there, completely still. A few minutes later, I dispelled the now read and pink bubbles and checked each cut.

I smiled lightly. He was fine, physically at least…

"Pirates… you're all the same." I heard Nami say from behind me. "You take what's precious and laugh!"

She sounded angry, livid actually. She _did_ say she lost someone - maybe she's just connecting the two. Or she just thinks that all pirates pillage and kill for kicks.

I sighed. "Nami–"

"SHUT UP!" she bellowed. "You think you can just do whatever you want and destroy people's lives!"

"Huh?"

I cast a sideways glance at Luffy, who had chosen then to appear, from my spot next to Chouchou.

"Hmph! You're still alive?" the girl asked sarcastically. "I was hoping that lion would eat you!"

"Hey, what the…?" mumbled the mayor, who I'm now just noticing.

"I ought to kill you right now, before you can gather a crew and go pillage some town!" she yelled angrily while struggling against the mayor's grip on her.

"You don't stand a chance against me!" replied Luffy by sticking out his tongue.

That set her off even more. "Heartless pirate! Let's have it out, right now!"

"Good job putting the fire out Azure," he said as he walked over.

I nodded, bringing my knees to my chest and wrapping my arm around them. "'Said I would."

Luffy said nothing as he placed a crumpled box of pet food in front of the mutt. "Hey," he said as he said on the other side. "That's all I could save for you boy! The rest of it got eaten, or burned…"

I sighed at this. Again…

"You did good!" he smiled. "You fought well. I didn't get to see you in action, but I know you did good."

After a moment, Chouchou stood and picked up the box before walking away. He stopped down the road and dropped the box then he let out a bark.

I grinned at him. As did Luffy, "Thanks! Good luck to you, too, doggy!"

Chouchou barked happily before taking off with the box.

I caught Nami smiling. A small sigh escaped her lips followed be the sound of her clacking heels. "Sorry about earlier," she said. "I didn't mean to yell at you two."

"You're stressed, we get it," I smiled.

"Besides, we know you lost someone to pirates; not that I want to hear the details or anything."

She smiled appreciatively. "Hey Azure?"

"Hm?"

"Thanks."

Awww~! I grinned.

"AHHH! I can't stand no more!" shouted the mayor suddenly. "I can't stand anymore of their bullying! Not after Chouchou and this kid fought so bravely! What kind of mayor stands back and watches his town be destroyed!"

"Please, mayor! Calm down!" exclaimed Nami.

"Sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do! Isn't that right, sonny!"

"That's right!" said Luffy grinning defiantly. "You said it, old man!"

"Don't encourage him!" Nami yelled, growing sharp teeth.

"Forty years of hard work! This place was wilderness when we got here. _'We'll build our town right here! We'll forget our old town that pirate's destroyed!'_ At first it was just a few homes. But slowly our numbers grew. We worked hard, cleared the land. Over time, people came and opened shops. And look at us now! We're a thriving port! We old-timers built this town from nothing! It's **our** life's work! This town and its people are my treasure! I'd be a sorry excuse for a mayor if I didn't try to protect it! I'M GONNA FIGHT!"

**KABOOM!**

I gasped as I was blown away by the huge explosion. I sat up and massaged my left shoulder, having landed on it. Nami gasped loudly and I opened my eyes. They widened immediately. The row of houses we were standing beside was decimated.

"My house! It's ruined!" growled the mayor.

"HEY!" cried Luffy as he realized something. "Zoro was sleeping in there!"

"Shit!" I yelped.

"Could the kid with the belly-band have survived that!" asked the old man in astonishment.

"Hey Zoro!" Luffy shouted urgently. "Are you alive?"

"Zoro?" I called warily. "Come on buddy, speak to me."

There was the sound of shifting rubble, but it could have been things finally settling. When the dust started to clear, a moan caused me to grin.

"That's one heck of an alarm clock…" mumbled the swordsman as he sat in the debris, hand cradling his head.

"Hey! You're alive!" smiled our captain.

"Sweet," I grinned, standing up.

"How could anyone survive through that?" the thief asked herself in astonishment.

"That tears it!" shouted the mayor as he hit his chest plate. "I can't take it anymore! I won't lose another town to those sea rats! Pirates show up and think they can do as they please, but I won't let them wreck forty years of hard work! I'm the **mayor**! I won't take this sitting down! It's time to fight!"

"Mayor!" cried the girl, grabbing onto him. "Wait, please!"

"Let me go, girlie!" he shouted as he struggled against her grasp.

"Getting yourself killed won't accomplish anything! You're being reckless!"

"**I KNOW I'M BEING RECKLESS!"**

She suddenly let go. "Buggy the Clown! Prepare to face the mayor!" he yelled as he ran off.

"The mayor, he was crying…" she mumbled in awe.

"It didn't look that way to me," grinned Luffy.

"Things are finally gonna get fun," Zoro said excitedly.

"It's about time," I grinned again, tying my hair back.

"Yeah!" laughed Luffy with his hands in his pockets.

"This is no laughing matter!" yelled Nami.

"Don't worry, I like that old man. I won't let him get killed," he said. That didn't seem to satisfy her.

"How can you just stand there laughing?" she continued. "What do you get out of this anyway?"

"We're headed for the Grand Line! We'll steal that map back and then we can go together!"

I thought we had already established that…

"Join up with us!" smiled Luffy as he held out his hand. "You want that map and all the treasure, right?"

Nami, surprised, paused before answering. "I won't become a pirate!" she swatted his had away before smirking, "Let's just say we'll 'join forces'. Work together for a common goal."

"Oh! Okay!" the captain grinned widely. I sighed. _Only he could be that dense…_

"So, are we going or what?" I asked smirking, hand on my hip.

Zoro untied his black bandana from his arm.

"You're coming too!" Nami asked the injured swordsman. "What about your wound?"

"They got better."

"That's impossible!" she shrieked in protest, clearly not impressed.

"I'm more worried about my reputation then my guts right now. I've got a score to settle! Let's do it." He smirked menacingly, bandana adding to the demonic look.

"I can't wait!" grinned Luffy as he cracked his knuckles.

"You three are crazy!" she facepalmed.

"You have to be for this crew," I grinned widely. "Welcome to the club!"

She just glared at me, causing me to chuckle.

"Just stating the truth."

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><p><strong>So, you just discovered a little something of Azure. Now, I'm sure you noticed that that was latin - I'm not the first to use it and won't be the last. <strong>

**_Aqua auxilium operae - _Water, I call for your aid.**

**_Gratias ago vos_ - Thank you**

**Have a good long weekend to you Canadians out there :) See you lot next week... hopefully...**

**PS: It's hard to find a **_**GOOD**_** Latin translator/dictionary... :/**


	6. Chapter 6: We're Pirates!

**Well, howdy! **

**I know I had said "next week" but, as you know, the school year is coming to an end and summer begins (well for me) Wednesday. Which means I have more time to write and update :) At least I didn't wait 4 months this time... ^^"  
><strong>

**Oh! Okay, so I've gotten a lot of Favs and Story Alerts, and not that I don't appreciate them (I smile every single time I see one in my inbox), but I would kinda like to have actual reviews. I've gotten, like, 5 (Thank you _ShadedEclipse_ and _Alpenwolf_) but I need more to let me know what you guys think of what I'm doing. Favs and Alerts don't exactly give me your opinions... So, please, take the time to actually give me some feedback.  
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**Arigato *bows*  
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**Now enjoy~!  
><strong>

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><p><span>Chapter 6 ~ We're Pirates!<span>

"Soon, I shall rule the Grand Line! And all the treasure will be mine! All the treasure in the world! I'll have it all, nobody else!"

Good thing Buggy was so loud, otherwise we'd have had a hard time finding the place with the now destroyed area.

"W-why you! Curse you!" that was the mayor, his voice sounded odd. "Come down and fight me like a man!"

We rounded the corner and saw the mayor floating in mid-air. Buggy was standing at the railing along the tavern's roof, looking all smug.

"You're not worth the effort."

"C'MON!" yelled the mayor as he struggled in Buggy's grasp. "I WON'T LET YOU WRECK THIS TOWN! COME DOWN AND FIGHT ME!"

Luffy took off towards them. He yanked the clown's hand from the man's throat and held the mayor on the ground by the collar. Buggy's arm twitched in pain and looked down.

"THE KID IN THE STRAW HAT!" he cried in surprised.

"I'm back!" smirked Luffy as he squeezed the detached hand harder. "I told you I'd clobber you!"

"I don't believe it!" he said as his hand flew to reattach itself. "You lot must enjoy pain… BUT THIS TIME YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME!"

"Have fun fighting guys," she said with a hand on her hip. "I'm just here for the map and treasure."

"Whatever," said Zoro with his hands in his pockets.

"Be careful," I smirked with my hands behind my head.

"You young whipper-snappers…" he huffed. "You're outsiders" _Koff _"Not your fight, this is **my **battle!" he picked up his spear, "It's my town and I'll protect it! SO DON'T INTERFERE!"

Suddenly, surprising us all, Luffy shoved the old man's into the side of a building. The mayor fell to the ground unconscious.

"Who's side are you on!" shrieked Nami as he wiped his hands. "Why'd you do that to the mayor!"

"He was in the way," was all he said as he turned to face Buggy.

"Good thinking," said Zoro. "He would've gotten himself killed. He'll be safer unconscious."

I sighed, "I'm sure there was a less violent way to do it."

"Huh, maybe," he shrugged. I sweatdroped. Then he turned towards the tavern. "Hey you! BIG NOSE!"

There was a unanimous gasp as everyone in the square froze. I couldn't hold it, I started cackling like a mad person.

"**KILL HIM!**" Buggy bellowed. "**GIVE 'EM THE BUGGY BALL!**"

The pirates moved quickly to obey their captain, loading the canon.

"You idiot!" yelled the thief as she prepared to run. "Don't you know when to shut up!"

"FIRE!"

I backed up slowly. I _really_ hope the captain has a plan…

"Luffy! Get out of the way!" Zoro yelled. "You're gonna get hit!"

"That measly cannonball's not gonna work on me!" he smirked confidently. "Gum-Gum..." he sucked in a deep breath, "Balloon!"

I watched in slight surprise as Luffy's body expanded like, well, a balloon just as the cannonball hit him. His stomach stretched backwards before bouncing the cannonball back towards the enemy pirates.

Nami sank to her knees, pale from shock. I let out a sigh of relief, putting a hand on my hyperactive heart. At least now I know he can survive canon fire….

"Could've at least told us what you were planning," Zoro glared as the tavern exploded.

"That should even the odds a little!" smirked Luffy as he placed his fallen hat on his head. "Let's get 'em!"

"WHAT **ARE** YOU!" screeched Nami.

"Made me worry for nothing…" mumbled the swordsmen. I sighed, what did I get myself into…?

As the dust settled, Nami stood on mildly shaky legs as she marched over to us. "Wow. I thought there was something strange about you. I mean, you did pile-drive a lion," she pointed at him. "What kind of human being could do that! How can you inflate yourself like a balloon!"

"I think you freaked her out," I snickered.

"That was the Gum-Gum Balloon!" he stated proudly, as if that explained everything.

"But _how_ did you do it!"

Before anyone could reply, there was a shuffle of debris. We looked to the pile at the sound of footsteps and the ginger gasped. Three unconscious figures emerged from the smoke. One was the lion while the others were just crew members.

Nami frowned in disgust, "Unreal... Using his men as shields…"

"Cap'n, this is the worst disgraced we've suffered since you formed this crew," said the man using the lion. He was dressed in white pants, a navy blue sleeveless tunic, a long white-and-blue checkered scarf with a partially shaved head.

"I'm so mad I can't even speak," said the clown as his floating hands dropped the two men.

"Where am I?" someone groaned. "What the hell happened?"

"Mohji," the scarfed man drawled, "you're still alive?"

"Cabaji!" growled the fuzzy man. "What're you doing to Richie!"

"The kitty?" said Cabaji as he tossed the lion aside. Talk about animal cruelty. "I was using him as a shield. Didn't want to soil my raiment."

"Richie!" cried Mohji, "Are you okay!"

The jungle cat made to get up but caught sight of Cabaji's glare and went to go cower behind the building. Coward…

"Why you–!" he glared at the man before seeing us. He gasped, "It's the straw hat kid! Cap'n Buggy watch out for him! He's got special powers from eating a Devil Fruit – just like you! He's a rubber man!"

"Rubber man?" Nami asked in surprise, turning to him.

"Yep," he said as he pulled a cheek.

"See?" I said as I stretched his other one. I had been wanting to that since I found out. It felt soft and warm like regular skin, but stretchier. And when it snapped back into place, it was like nothing had happened.

"A Devil Fruit, eh?" said Buggy. "So why my Buggy Ball bounced off him! Mohji, if you knew," his hand detached again and grabbed the fuzzy man's collar, "Why didn't you tell me!" he yelled, throwing him towards us.

"I tried to!" he cried as he flew. "GYAA! Outta my way!"

He was headed right for Luffy and I had yet to repay the man for what he did. Couldn't have that now could I? I quickly slid in the fuzzy man's path, back facing the buildings to our left. Just as he got close enough, I brought my left up in a round-house kick – foot planting itself in his face.

Nami jumped to the side as Mohji landed right where she had been. He then slid down the road a ways away before stopping. *** **

"That was for Chouchou, ass-wipe."

"Nice one Azure," grinned Luffy.

"Cake-walk," I smirked. I felt better now – look even the sun came out!

"Buggy's second mate, Cabaji the Acrobat!" he said as he came barrelling down with saber in hand on… was that a unicycle? "I'll cut 'em to mince-meat Cap'n!"

My hand went to my pocket to get my knife, but it seems I didn't have to worry. There was a resounding _KRANG!_ of steel hitting steel.

"I'll clash swords with you!" said Zoro as he stood in front of me, one of two katanas hold off the saber.

"Roronoa Zoro, as one swordsman to another, it will be an honor to cut you down."

I took a step back, a little wary. I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea to let him fight. His side was probably throbbing like hell. Apparently I wasn't the only one to think he should sit out.

"Hey, Zoro!" called Luffy. "Maybe you should rest. Let me or Azure handle him."

"Breath of Death!" Cabaji pulled his scarf down, exposing his face, and spit out a stream of fire straight into Zoro's face. Though it didn't look like it hurt him, it caused him to stumble back and raised an arm to shield his face.

As Cabaji brought his foot back, it became painfully obvious what his target was. He brought his foot down on Zoro's wound. The swordsman let out a strangled cry as he landed on his back, acrobat chuckling above him.

"That's dirty!" Nami cried in anger. "You're aiming for his injuries!"

"I call my next trick," said Cabaji as ignored her. He drove his sword into the ground. Good way to dull the blade in my opinion… "'Murder at the Steam Bath'!" Using his saber to hold him in place, he spun the wheel of his unicycle, kicking up a huge dust cloud.

"Circus trick my ass," huffed Zoro as he sat up. "You're just kicking up dust." He quickly crossed is swords in front of him, blocking the sabre from coming down on his head.

I cringed as Cabaji bashed his foot into Zoro's side again. I took a breath as Nami chewed him out again. Moss-head can do this, he's just getting started. I spared a glance at Luffy, he didn't look like he was too happy watching his friend get kicked around. But he stayed out of the fight, just like me, waiting for Zoro to get serious.

"Your friends' odd talents caused us quite a bit trouble. So you're the big, scary 'Pirate Hunter'. Well, I'll teach you to mess with Cap'n Buggy's crew." Zoro struggled to push himself up as his muscles quivered and panted for breath.

"Zoro's hurt bad! How's he supposed to fight!" Nami yelled then turned on us. "How can you just stand there and watch your friend get killed!"

"Nami, relax," I sighed. "Things are perfectly fine. Just watch."

"How the hell can you stay so calm!" she shrieked.

"Worrying about it won't make it any better. I have faith in his abilities, so does Luffy. He'll be fine."

"Roronoa Zoro! Prepare to be well done!" Cabaji moved in for the kill, saber ready to strike. _Krang!_ He fell back as Zoro's sword collided with him, causing him to fall to the ground.

Luffy and I cheered. Ha! Take that!

"You're a very annoying person," he growled, flipping his left sword so it pointed to the ground. "I hope you enjoyed kicking my wound." He then brought the left sword across his injured side slicing it open.

I blinked in surprise before sighing. Idiot's gonna get himself killed that way. Pretty awesome though…

Zoro let out the breath he had been holding. "My goal is to be the world's greatest swordsman."

"What're you talking about…?" asked Cabaji.

"Is that enough of a handicap for you?" asked Zoro as he placed his white sword in his mouth, blood dripping down his hand. "Now I'll show you some real swordplay."

"Wow! Zoro's so cool!" Luffy cheered. I smirked, "About freaking time…"

"So, Roronoa Zoro, you want to make a fool out of me?"

The silence was intense as the two swordsmen stared each other down, neither moving. I don't really like complete silence, its way to unnatural. I was trying really hard not to fidget, though the sound of Zoro's dripping blood was the only actual sound on the street. Nami actually looked a little pale. Might be because of how bloody our swordsman was getting.

"I feel faint just watching this," she moaned.

"Get 'im Zoro!" Luffy cheered again.

"My swords aim to be the worlds greatest. I can't lose, not even once, to anyone who calls himself a swordsman!"

Cabaji smirked, "So you injure yourself as insurance for your reputation… Well don't worry. You're wounds are severe, they'll make an excellent excuse when you lose."

"It's the other way around," said Zoro as he braced his legs, holding his two swords out and tilted toward the ground. "If I lose to the likes of you when my wounds are only this light," he smirked, "then I may as well give up my dream now."

"Hey," said Nami as she caught Luffy's shoulder and pointed towards the use-to-be tavern. "That shack behind the ruins of the tavern… that's where they keep their treasure. And Buggy's probably got the map of the Grand Line. I'll get their treasure and make my escape. I've got to do it now while they're all knocked out." She turned to leave waving a hand about, "Whether you guys win or lose this battle, I don't really care!" She then turned back around and pointed at us. "But if you do get that map from Buggy, then– and only then– will I consider teaming up with you again."

Whatever floats your boat I guess. She was right in a way, the whole distraction thief thing, I mean. "Good luck guys! See ya!" she called over her shoulder as she dashed off into an alley.

"Wow! Thanks!"

I cocked an eyebrow as I turned back to see Cabaji bring out several spinning tops. "Roronoa Zoro! Have a taste of the greatest of all my tricks! And now, 'Dance of a Hundred Kamikaze Tops'!" He threw the tops at Zoro. And since he was distracted, the scarfed man took his unicycle and went straight to the wall.

"Circus trick: 'A Hike in the Mountains'. His unicycle wheeled right up the side of the building. Zoro quickly knocked the tops away before he turned his attention back to Cabaji.

"Circus trick: 'Fireworks in the Cool Summer Breeze'." From his perch on the roof, he flung himself into the air.

I let out a low whistle. "Wow! He's way up there!" said Luffy as he shielded his eye to watch.

Cabaji brought his saber in front of him and pointed the tip downward, holding it with both hands. "'Sting of the Unicycle'." He began to fall. Target: Zoro.

"Low-flying Chop-Chop Cannon!" I frowned before turning to glare at Buggy, who had been silent the whole time. My eyes widened as Buggy's hand shot out towards Zoro, keeping close to the ground.

"Cabaji! I'll hold Zoro down! You finish him off!"

"With pleasure!" he smirked.

"Damn!" Zoro's eyes widened.

"Oh _hell_ no…" I murmured.

As the hand drew closer, I moved. Buggy cried out as I dug my foot into his detached hand, pinning it to the ground.

"Azure!"

"You should mind your hands," I said as I ground my heel deeper, "lest you lose them."

"You!" he growled and I saw a flash of recognition in his eyes. But that's not possible; I've never met or heard of him before.

"Me," I grinned. I'll ignore it, can't be all that important anyway.

"I don't need the captain to lend me a hand to kill you!"

I sweatdropped. _You did a minute ago…_

Cabaji continued his dive. Thankfully, Zoro managed to dodge at the second, barely avoiding being a mess on the pavement.

"I've had enough," he huffed as he pushed himself up. "I'm tired…"

"You're tired?" Cabaji laughed as he propped his blade on his shoulder. "What's wrong? Anemic? So you've finally given up! Well, I'm not surprised. It's amazing you can still stand in your condition."

To everyone's surprise, Zoro kicked the unicycle out from under him, causing him to lay on the ground, glaring up at Zoro.

"You got it wrong," Zoro glared back, looking almost psychotic. "What I'm tired of are your stupid circus tricks!"

"Fine then!" the scarfed man growled. "No more tricks! I'll finish you off with my _real_ swordsmanship!" He rushed Zoro, sabre at the ready.

Zoro took a stance; arm crossed in front of him, swords pointed up. "Oni…" he waited till his opponent was in range, "Giri!" He struck, arms uncrossing and katanas slashing with amazing speed. Each of the three blades struck in different spots, causing maximum damage.

"Epic!" I grinned.

Before he passed out, Cabaji managed, "How could these common thieves have beaten us? We're the Buggy Pirates– the scourge of the seas! How could things have gotten this far?" the he collapsed in a heap.

"We're not **common** thieves," said Zoro as he took the sword from his mouth and reached to pull his black bandana off his head before he collapsed. "We're **pirates**!"

I sighed as his two black swords clattered to the ground. He's such a litter-bug…

"Luffy… I'm going to sleep now…"

"Go ahead and sleep!" Luffy replied as he rolled his shoulder. "I'll take it from here! Az, keep an eye on him!"

I sighed as I collapsed on the ground beside Zoro, arms and legs folded as I pouted like a child. Was I ever going to get some action? On the plus side, got myself a new nickname.

…I think…

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><p><strong>* Marked page 100 in my notebook. I found that kind of awesome...<br>**

**Please Review :3  
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	7. Chapter 7: Devil Fruit: Vs Captains

**Supness!**

**Look at that! An update within 2 weeks! ****  
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**Actually, I had this done about 4 days ago... um... procrastination? Anyway, this is the last of the Buggy Arc, finally. I noticed the guy laughs too much... then again, so does Azure...  
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**Enjoy!  
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><p><span>Chapter 7 ~ Devil Fruit Battle: Vs <span>Captains!

"You guys call yourselves _**pirates**_!"

"That's right! Now hand over the map of the Grand Line!"

"So that's what you're after. Well a couple of lily-livered, no-name pirates like you won't last a day on the Grand Line!" chuckled Buggy. "What you plan to do there! Go sightseeing?"

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates."

Buggy's head fell to the side as he made a couple of odd sounds. He recovered a moment later. "DON'T BE A FOOL!" he bellowed. "IF YOU'RE KING OF THE PIRATES THEN WHAT AM I? GOD OF THE PIRATES!" I giggled at this; Buggy a god? _Tehshishishi_… "THE WORLD'S TREASURE WILL BE MINE! SO FORGET IT!"

"Okay, hurry up and attack me," said Luffy as he took a fighting stance and cracked his fingers. "I'm getting bored."

"You'll regret your words, rubber boy!" said the clown as he also took a stance, eight knives between his fingers. A brief flash of recognition flashed across his eyes again. "You and your straw hat remind me of _**him**_ when he was younger… that damn cheeky pirate with the red hair!"

"R-Red hair!" obviously Luffy was caught off guard. "You talkin' about Shanks? You know Shanks!"

Is he talking about 'Red-Haired' Shanks? Only one I can think of… but how does Luffy know him?

"Hmm, you seem real interested," he paused cocking his head to the side. "Yes, I know him. What's it to you?"

"Where is he now?"

"So, you want to know where he is, eh?" smirked the clown. "Well, maybe I know…Then again, maybe I don't."

"What are you talking about? Are you an idiot?" he asked bluntly.

"Watch your tongue, boy!"

I sweatdropped. _He's messing with you Luffy…_

Buggy raised his knives. "We're mortal enemies, him and I! You won't get any information from me without a fight! Not even as a departing gift to hell…"

"I'm willing to beat it out of you," smirked Luffy.

"You'll be dead before you get a word out of me!" he laughed. Suddenly, he lifted each foot in turn and a knife popped out of each shoe. "Not even rubber can withstand a razor-sharp blade!"

"Maybe so…" he replied nervously. Ah, so it's the sharp objects that can do damage. He better watch himself then.

"Chop-Chop Buzz-saw!" Buggy had detached his lower half, now spinning rapidly with knives sticking out of his shoes. Luffy, waiting till the last moment, jumped into the air, Buggy's legs passed harmlessly beneath him.

"Let's see you dodge _these_…" the clown threw all eight of his knives, "In mid-air!"

"No problem!" said Luffy as he grabbed a beam to pull him away.

Buggy laughed, "Not bad! This is getting interesting!"

"Sure is!" he replied as he landed. "Gum-Gum Pistol!" Luffy threw his stretched fist. Unfortunately, Buggy sidestepped the attack.

"Interesting power you got there!" he said as he watched the arm curiously before pulling out two more knives. "But your outstretched arm makes a delicious target! I'll just sever it!"

"Gum-Gum…" Buggy looked up in surprise as Luffy came straight at him holding his other out. "…Sickle"

"Chop-Chop _Quick Dodge_!" his head popped off as Luffy passed through him. I let out a small gasp of surprise as Luffy crashed into the building behind him. I knew it wouldn't hurt him, but I expected him to let go of the beam he had anchored himself to. That, and someone purposefully popping their head off and be okay, kinda freaked me out a bit.

Buggy laughed, "You underestimated me, gummy boy!"

Luffy burst out of the wreckage without a scratch, hat in hand. "Damn," he mumbled as he stepped out of the rubble and placed his hat on his head. "How am I supposed to whack you when you keep flying to pieces?"

"Chop-Chop Harpoon!" yelled the clown as he let his right forearm fly with four knives.

Where the hell does he get them all? Does he just pull them out of his ass or something?

Luffy caught the arm just before the knives cut his face. "Separate," he smirked. Buggy's hand separated from the rest and continued on its path. Thankfully, he had quickly moved his head out of the way.

He then tumbled back into the rubble. He took off his hat and stared at it as he sat there, not noticing the blood trickling down from his left temple. "You bastard!" he yelled as he glared at Buggy.

"What's a matter?" he teased. "Baby get a booboo?"

"Bastard… No one damages this hat and walks away alive!" he ground out, looking at the hat.

I squinted a bit, but I could see a nick along the brim.

"So?"

"THIS HAT IS MY TREASURE! YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR DAMAGING IT!"

I blinked in surprise. I've never seen him so angry. Hell, never seen him angry period. But… if it's his treasure, his most prized possession, the he has every right to be mad. If my treasure was defiled like that, I'd probably go ape-shit too…

"It's that important to you, eh?" asked Buggy. I don't like that tone…

"That's right!"

Then one of the knives flew towards his back. Luffy took notice and dove to dodge but it left his hat wide open. In that moment, I knew what was next. My eyes widened in terror, "Luffy! The Hat!"

"Then you should take better care of it!"

My warning came too late as the knived hand shot forward, ripping through the top. Luffy looked beyond horrified.

Buggy's hand reattached itself, Luffy's treasure still skewered by the knives. "How's this old tattered thing a treasure?" He then burst into laughter again, "Treasure refers to sparkly gold, silver and jewels and all those make it's possessor a king! You really consider this worthless dirty straw hat a treasure? You need to grow up boy!"

Luffy was beyond fury now, he was downright livid. Buggy seemed to be the only one who didn't notice, or he didn't care.

"SHUT UP!" he roared as rushed Buggy. "I promised I'd return that hat to Shanks!"

Shanks gave Luffy that hat? I wonder what the story behind that is…

"What? This is Shanks' hat?" Buggy threw the old hat to the ground. "I thought it looked familiar. Shanks and I worked on the same ship a long time ago," he paused to spit on the hat. "We were both young… apprentice pirates you might say."

"Shanks is a great man!" Luffy cried. "You, his comrade? Don't ever compare yourself to him!" he readied his fist.

"Chop-Chop Quick Escape!" Buggy said as his head popped off again.

Luffy's fist planted itself into Buggy's stomach, the blow hard enough to make tears run down his face. His head reattached as he fell back on the ground.

Luffy looked to his hat as the clown coughed up a storm. "Dammit! How dare you tear up my treasured straw hat! And you spat on it!" he picked it up and walked back to the fallen captain. He sat down on his stomach and wiped the saliva off onto Buggy.

"YECH! Sthop it!"

"It's your own spit!" I laughed lightly despite the situation. Luffy grabbed Buggy by the cheeks, stretched them a couple of time before pulling him up by them. "Don't ever mention Shanks and yourself in the same breath again!"

"Hmph! I don't know what your connection to Shanks is, but I'll say whatever the hell I like about him! Chop-Chop–"

"Don't come apart!" Luffy chopped his head.

"Never in my life," said Buggy who, after pushing Luffy off him, got up. "Has anyone made me as angry as Shanks did! He's the one person I loathe, and will curse his name for the rest of my life! That scallywag stole a great treasure from me!" Luffy looked on in surprise as hatred laced his words. "I'll never forgive him!"

He went on to describe how he and Shanks would argue all the time. During one about which is coldest, the North or South Pole, when a ship came by. As they were pillaging it, Buggy came across a treasure map of sunken treasure. As they celebrated, Shanks told him that they found a Devil Fruit and that it was worth a hundred thousand berries. Buggy, being greedy, stole it and made a copy. He pretended to eat it and made to leave that night. However, as he was sneaking about, Shanks surprised him and caused him to swallow the fruit. In his anger, he accidentally dropped the map overboard. He jumped in after it, but having eaten a Devil Fruit, he began to sink and drown. Shanks dove in after him.

"So, Shanks saved your life…" grinned Luffy after the tale.

"That's not the point!" Buggy yelled.

"Oi, Buggy!" I called, drawing attention to myself. "Shanks was right, the South Pole _is_ colder!"

"That's not the point either!" he yelled again. "It was all his fault! He foiled all of my grandiose plans! So I changed my plans. If I can't get the treasure _in_ the ocean, I'll just have to take all the treasure _on_ the sea using my Chop-Chop powers!" Buggy split his body in half, upper body flying up into the air. But he wasn't looking at Luffy, he wasn't even looking at me, his attention was focused on something near the old tavern.

…Ah shit! Nami!

"I don't care how insignificant of a fly you may be, if you put your hands on my treasure," Luffy spun around, finally catching on, "I'll squash you! Hands off my treasure!" Buggy flew towards Nami, who was hauling a huge sack.

"I've been found out!" she yelped.

"You won't get the better of me Nami! I'll cut you to pieces!" From where I was, there was no way to help her without being discovered. "You won't even get a speck of gold paint!" Then he let out a cry of pain.

I cocked my head in confusion and turned to Luffy. My eyes widened when I saw what he had done. He kicked Buggy in the sack.

"My b-balls…" he whimpered as both halves fell to the ground, tears pouring from his eyes. "My balls… That was a cheap shot…"

"Don't run off yet," Luffy grinned, "our fights not over!"

Nami sighed in relief, "I'm safe…"

"Hey!" Luffy called. "You better drop that treasure and get out of here! He'll keep coming after you!"

"Leave the treasure!" she asked appalled. After our previous encounter, I knew better than to ask. "Not a chance! I'm not leaving my treasure behind!"

Buggy glared at her from the ground, "_Your_ treasure?"

"That's right! _**MY**_ treasure! I'm a master thief that steals form pirates and I just stole it! MINE, MINE, MINE!"

"Oh, okay," said Luffy as his fist hit his hand.

"That's my treasure, fool! It's not yours until you get away with it! It's the basic principal of thievery!"

"The bad guy wants to lecture the bad guy, eh? I don't argue with lowlife pirates!" she stuck her tongue out at him. "The day I take a morality lesson from you is the day I stop being a thief."

"Ooo~ I like her!" I giggled.

"Then suffer the consequences!" Buggy growled. "Chop-Chop Festival!" His body exploded into hundreds of tiny floating pieces. Buggy laughed, "Let's see you save your friend now, Gum-Gum boy!"

"Damn, he broke up into smaller pieces! How am I supposed to fight him…?"

That's just weird… Looking at the mass of parts, I noticed one piece missing. _Where the hell are his feet? _I turned to my captain and saw he had a foot in his hand and was taking the shoe off; the other hopping around on the ground. Then Luffy tickled the foot, causing the clown to laugh hysterically.

"How do you like this!" he smashed the toes into the ground, causing Buggy to yell in pain. "You're a tough old clown, aren't ya?" he pinched the skin at Buggy's ankle. He cried out even louder.

"Enough already! Knock it off!" he yelled facing Luffy.

"No, _you_ knock it off!" In a large feat of strength, Nami raised the bag and swung it, attempting to hit Buggy in the face.

Keyword: attempt.

To our surprise, Buggy's floating hands caught the bag. "Thank you for returning my treasure, Nami!"

"Let go!" cried Nami as she shook the bag, trying to dislodge the hands.

"Let go! You let go!" I giggled; watching a grown man– let alone a fearsome pirate– fighting over something like a child was hilarious. Buggy's hands flew out behind Nami, knives poised to strike. "It's my treasure!"

Luffy broke into a run, "Hey! You're supposed to be fighting me! Remember?" he sent a kick to the back of the clowns head, making both him and the sack of gold go flying. Then, all the body pieces fell to the ground, among the now scattered treasure.

"That," smirked Luffy as he wiped some blood away, "was for the mayor!"

"Yeah Luffy!" I cheered from my spot on the ground, applauding. He grinned over at me.

"T-thanks for saving me," she told him.

"No problem!" then he noticed something near the pirate's body. "Hey! The treasure map!" he walked over and picked it up while Nami focused on gathering the treasure. "At last! The map of the Grand Line!"

"Hey! Not so fast Gum-Gum!" Urg, why won't he stay down?

"You're still alive?"

"I'll kill you! Come together! Chop-Chop Parts!"

I keeled over from laughing. He was so tiny! Only his hands, feet and a part of his middle came back. He barely went to Luffy's waist!

"Looking for these, Buggy?" Nami teased as she tightened a rope around flesh coloured things. Upon closer inspection–

"AHG! MY PARTS!"

Luffy laughed loudly, "Good job master thief!" He stretched his arms way back, "Leave the rest to me! Gum-Gum Bazooka!" he brought his hands forward and shot Buggy off into the sky, the clown screaming the entire way.

"I WIN!" Luffy cheered. I grinned as I stood. "Now you'll join my crew, right?"

"For the time being, looks like I'll make a killing if I stick with you guys!" I tied Zoro's bandana to his bicep and sheathed his swords as Nami nuzzled a bag of treasure. "You have to give Buggy some credit; he has an eye for treasure. This is first-class booty! It's easily worth ten million berries! By the way, this treasure weights a ton, so I divided it up in two, okay?" But she hadn't noticed that Luffy had left the scene and was now holding his treasured hat.

"I can't imagine how much that means to you," I said quietly.

"Yeah," he said as he flopped it on his head. "It's not so bad, I guess. I can still wear it." He grinned that signature and contagious grin, "It felt good to clobber ol' Buggy!"

I nodded. "Hey, can you tell me about you and Shanks sometime?"

His grin widened, "Sure!" He then moved and knelt down next to our swordsman. "Hey Zoro! Wake up! Zoro, we're leaving!" He called as he patted him on the head.

When he came to a moment later, he sat up and glanced around, "Did you take care of things?"

"Yeah, and I got a navigator and the map."

Zoro glanced at Nami, sizing her up briefly before turning blue in the face. "It's no good. I don't think I can walk," he moaned.

"Of course not!" said Nami. "If you could, I wouldn't believe any of you were human."

"Hey! Don't lump me up with him!" protested Luffy.

"You're even less human than he is!" she yelled.

"What did I do?" I whined.

"You're the only other normal person here."

"I'm far from normal," I grinned. "So, who wants wake-up duty?" I asked, pointing to the unconscious senior.

"Oh yeah!"

"Hey! You guys!" We turned to see a mob of people. This could be really good or really bad. I'm going with the latter...

"We're the citizens of this town," he said. "Tell us, what happened here?"

Nami sighed in relief, "The townspeople? Good, I thought you might be more pirates."

"Hey! It's the mayor!" cried a man.

"Oh no!"

"Mayor, say something!"

"He's unconscious!"

"Those damn pirates definitely did this!"

"How horrible!"

"No, I knocked the old man out."

"WHAT!" All of them, men and women, raised their weapons and glared.

Definitely the latter…

"Hold on!" Nami whispered. "They didn't need to know that."

"It's true."

My fingers covered my mouth, hiding my laughter. Honest, blunt, childish, idiotic… I chose one hell of a captain.

"Maybe, but I wasn't going to tell them!"

"**You** did this to the mayor!" said the first guy as they readied their weapons.

"Explain yourselves!" By this point, we were surrounded.

"Who are you?"

"Are you with the pirates!"

I undid my hair from its tie, getting ready.

"We're pirates."

Nami fell to the side in disbelief. Zoro and I burst into laughter.

"**JUST AS WE THOUGHT!**"

"YOU IDIOT!"

"It's the truth!" the captain whined cutely.

"Pirates! How dare you ravage our town!"

Luffy and I walked over to the sitting Zoro.

"We won't show you any mercy!"

Luffy squatted down. "What now?" asked Zoro. "Doesn't look like they wanna talk."

Luffy grinned and I smirked.

"RUN!"

I laced the swordsman's arm over my shoulder and hauled him onto my back, all while turning tail. As he past, Luffy grabbed one of the gold sacks from our navigator. Nami bolted after us, clutching the other bag to her chest for dear life. We heard them giving chase, thundering after us.

"Why do you always complicate things!" she asked,

"These are good people!" he replied simply.

"So?"

"They're all worked up because they love their mayor!"

"They wouldn't have listened to our side of the story," I smiled.

"We're turning here!" he said as he took off into an alleyway.

"Dude!" I yelled, making a turn so sharp Zoro's ankles hit the corner. Oops…

"Wait! Hold on! You gotta let me know sooner!" Nami cried as she doubled-back to follow.

After about six paces, we jumped over a bandaged white dog sitting in the alley. Wait a sec–

"Chouchou?" "Doggy?" "Puppy?"

Sure enough, Chouchou started to bark at the townsfolk, preventing them from going farther.

"Get out of the way, Chouchou!"

"_They're_ the bad guys!"

But he kept on barking and growling.

"Why are you helping them!"

I grinned, "Take care, Chouchou!"

"Later doggy!" Luffy laughed. And with that farewell, we raced to the docks.

**~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~**

"_That_ was too close," panted Nami. "We only made it because of Chouchou. Why are we in this mess, anyway?"

"Does it matter? We did what we set out to do right?" I asked as I adjusted the swordsman's weight. I do wonder how he knew where we would be though…

"No… I guess not…"

"Hey, is this your boat?" asked Luffy as he looked to the boat next to ours. "It's great!"

"I've seen better," she sweatdropped. "I stole it from some stupid pirates."

"We've been waiting for you, girlie!"

"Y-you guys!" she stammered. Oh, these guys, the ones who I ass-kicked earlier.

"You know these guys?" asked Luffy.

"Kinda…"

"Kinda?" the one in the hat laughed. "Our fates are intertwined!"

"I'll say," I sighed. "Piss off, would 'ja? We're in a rush."

It seems they remembered me 'cause they turned blue in the face from fear. They actually dove into the ocean and swam at break-neck speed, trying to get away.

"I'm not that bad, am I?" I pouted.

"Let's shove off before the townspeople catch up," said Nami, ignoring my question. I resisted the urge to go sulk in a corner.

I sighed, but nodded as I tossed Zoro into our dinky ship. He yelped in surprise and glared at me, "What the hell Azure!"

"Morning sunshine," I grinned.

Nami sighed, "Azure, why don't you board my ship?" I nodded and grabbed my bag from the smaller boat. Once set, Nami and Luffy shoved off, both boats gliding side-by-side.

"Alright! Let's go!" Luffy cheered before looking at our ship. "Hey! Your sail has Buggy's mark on it!"

"It _was_ his ship. Think I should change it?" she shrugged.

"Hey kid! Wait! I have something to say to you!" We turned back to see the mayor on the dock, panting for breath.

"THANK YOU! I WON'T FORGET IT!"

We all smiled back. "Don't worry about it! Take it easy!" Luffy yelled back.

It was only when we could barely see the island that Nami freaked out.

"What! You left the treasure! That bag was worth five million berries!"

"That's right! And they're going to need that money to fix their town!"

"That was _my_ treasure, jerk! Do you know how hard I worked to steal it?" Nami then proceeded to shove Luffy's head in the water as he held the side of the boat.

"Stop! I can't swim!"

"That's the whole idea!"

"If you want we can just go back and get it then!" he said as he pushed back.

"I can't do that!" she screeched. "You go and get it!"

"No! Wahh! That's dangerous! I could die you know!"

"That's the point! And if you do that again, I really will throw you in!"

The entire time, I was dying of laughter– literally on my back clutching my aching side. Zoro got a good laugh, too. Don't think I've heard him laugh so much. Nami calmed and let Luffy go. "Idiot," she smiled.

Luffy turned to Zoro and I, who were still in hysterics. "You're laughing!"

"No I'm not," he snickered.

"I am," I gasped.

"That didn't hurt," said Zoro after Luffy smacked him. I took pity on the Cap'n, as he had started to pout, and easily jumped the gap between the boats.

"Sorry Luffy," I smiled and gave him a sideways hug. He chuckled and I flicked Zoro's head.

"The hell was that for?" he yelled, rubbing his temple.

"For being an idiot," I grinned then jumped back onto Nami's boat.

Well, captain, swordsman, diver and now navigator. One more crewmate and one step closer to the Grand Line…

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><p><strong>TAH-DAH!<strong>

**Thoughts, comments, questions? Ask away in a review! Or PM me.  
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**QUESTION! So as you know, Az' has a bounty (which I have yet to introduce), but would you guys prefer if I used the Japanese or the English name? Really important!  
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**Arigato~!  
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**Silver  
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	8. Chapter 8: Storytellers

**Ummmm... Don't kill me? I've been having some serious issues as of late, although that really isn't an excuse. I'm also incredibly happy that I keep more than one digital copy of my chapters, though. *_sigh_* Well here's the next one.**

**Enjoy~!  
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><p><span>Chapter 8 ~ Story Tellers<span>

"So then I told him I would gather a better crew than his and that we would find the greatest treasure in the world. Then, he gave me his hat… and told me to give it back to him when I become a great pirate." Luffy smiled fondly at the straw hat in Nami's hands.

No wonder he love that hat so much… Someone who he idolizes so much gave him their most prized possession. Guess we have something in common…

"YOU FIXED IT!" he cheered as he got his treasure back. I couldn't help but smile.

"It's a temporary fix," said Nami as she put her sewing kit away. "I just sewed up the holes. It'll be fine as long as you aren't too rough with it."

"Thanks!" he smiled, poking the top repeatedly. _Sigh… _"That hat was full of them and now you can't even tell!"

_Three… Two… One…_

"Oops!" Luffy's finger went right through the top.

"YOU DON'T LISTEN!" Nami roared as she stabbed him.

"YEEOW!" he yelped as his hands flew to his forehead. "You stabbed me with a needle!"

"That's the only way I can hurt you!" she growled.

"Hmm… You're right," he nodded with a drop oozing from the pinprick.

"Cut the racket!" called Zoro as he sat up. "I can't sleep… and I'm starving," he added as an afterthought. Actually, a nap sounds good… "Hey, share some of your rations with us!"

"What's with you guys?" asked Nami. "Don't you know anything about seamanship? You don't even have any food or water!"

I pulled my black blanket from my bag as Nami fished out some bread. If it was just me, I would go fishing and clean some sea water to drink. I guess I would do that in the worst case scenario.

"How have you lunkheads survived this long?" she asked exasperatedly.

"We manage," replied Zoro as he ate.

"Hey! I see an island!" said Luffy excitedly.

I tugged on Nami's shirt, effectively getting her attention, "I'm going for a nap," I said sleepily. "Wake me if something happens."

She nodded and smiled before taking out her binoculars. I bunched my blanket to use as a pillow and headed for the shade the small cabin was giving.

"Looks uninhabited; hold your course."

After that, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

_The little girl, no more than 9, stood on the riverbank in the middle of the forest– away from prying eyes. She glanced at the old book, propped against a stump, seafoam eyes running over the lost language. Nodding in determination, cerulean ponytail bouncing lightly as she went to touch the surface of the water._

_She couldn't help the grin as she felt the marking that ran along her glow slightly. She loved using them, even if she was forbidden to. But she understood that she had to keep it a secret, lest they take her away. Her grin widened as the river glowed a faint blueish-white before it disappeared in the same instant. It agreed to her request._

_She stood beck up and relaxed, then extended her right arm– palm down– above the water. _

"_Ego dico super vos unda__," she murmured. The river started to rise, until a mass of water began to float under her hand. "__Tenent__," she said a little louder and pulled her hand away. The floating mass of water stayed in the air. She smiled again and began to move her hands, the water following. She let the water fall when she was done. That was just a warm-up for what she had planned. (I call upon you water; Hold)  
><em>

_She took a deep breath, relaxing her muscles, and angled herself sideways– left facing the water. The girl mumbled the words and made the water rise again, this time leaving it connected to its body._

"_Donec Nunc__!" she called as she flicked her arm towards the other side of the river. The water lashed out lick a whip, slicing through several trees on the bank. She cringed as they fell, but couldn't help the smile that formed. She had moved to the next lesson. She was one step– one tiny little step– closer to her dream. (Water Whip!)  
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_She snatched her tome from the stump and stuffed it in her bag. She muttered a 'thank you' and her markings stopped glowing as she rushed home. If the villagers caught her near the cut trees, they would ask questions. She didn't want to answer them. She took the secret path she had discovered to her current temporary home near the ocean._

_Once she reached the small two-bedroomed house, she saw someone hanging the laundry. The slender woman had long, wavy mahogany coloured hair that pooled at her lower back and wore a long short-sleeved pale orange dress with a light pink apron overtop._

_The girl secretly despised the woman and her husband, but acted innocent to the people who were raising her. The blue haired girl also knew that they returned that hate, but the two adults knew nothing of her knowledge and kept up the loving charade._

"_Aiko! Aiko!" the girl called. The woman turned, revealing soft porcelain skin and pale green eyes._

"_Azure," she smiled tightly, then caught notice of the girl's dirty clothes and the dark red bag slung over her shoulder. "How did you get so filthy? Were you over by the river again?"_

_Azure glanced down; the sleeves of her lavender hoodie were soaked, the black shirt underneath seemed fine– until she spotted some dust on it, her dark jeans– also wet and muddied– were nothing compared to her used-to-be gray sneakers. She shrugged not caring; it was only mud after all._

"_Guess what?" she grinned at her accomplishment. "I just learned how to do the water whip!" _

_Aiko's eyes widened and flickered before she smiled lightly. "That's quite an achievement, congratulations."_

_Azure caught sight of the woman's eyes. It was horror and anger that passed through Aiko. But, as usual, she ignored it, "Thanks!" she grinned again. "Now I'm one step closer."_

"_Alright, now hurry inside and change," scowled Aiko._

"_Mkay," then the child smirked. "Just watch, eventually I'm going to get all four and become as strong as __**her**__. I'll become a real–" _

"Dude! What the fuck!?" I yelled as something hit me in the head. I blinked and glanced above my head only to see a ruby red fruit. _Since when do we have apples?_ I sat up, holding the apple in one hand and rubbing my head with the other.

"Sorry Azure," said Nami as she glanced up at me from her map. "I couldn't wake you up," she smiled.

I blinked before nodding, a yawn escaping my lips. I bit into the apple and leaned against the edge of the boat as she turned the face the boys. Luffy was sitting at the bow of the ship while Zoro was sprawled across the tiny vessel.

Nami sighed, "We're being rash…"

Luffy turned to her, "Why?"

"We can't sail the Grand Line like this!" she replied.

"Your right! The shrub man gave us lots of fruit, but we need meat to keep our strength up!"

Shrub man? I think I missed something…

"I'm not talking about **food**!"

"She's right," piped up Zoro, "We don't have a drop of grog aboard."

"I'm not talking about **booze** either!"

I giggled at her frustration and decided to help. "She's talking about our sleeping arrangements." Nami glared at me. "We need a bigger ship if we're going to take on the Grand Line… More people would be smart, too."

"Thanks," she sweatdropped at my choice of words.

"So what should we do?" asked Luffy.

Nami stared at her map again, "We're going to plan ahead and prepare! There's a village a little south of here."

"I kinda like **not** sleeping on the floor," I said as I tucked loose hair behind my ear. Northern wind heading south, we should get there fast enough. "I vote for ship first, crew later."

"And meat!" cried Luffy. I grinned and pulled out a book.

**-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-**

I huffed as I finished pulling Nami's ship onto the shore, then stretched my arms skyward, popping the joints. As much as I love the sea, it feels good to be on solid ground every once in a while.

"It feels good to be on dry land again," said Zoro, voicing my thoughts.

""There's a village here, right?" asked Luffy as he looked around excitedly.

"Yeah," replied Nami as she looked over her map. "But it looks pretty small."

"We should be able to get what we need, right?" I asked as I peered over her shoulder at the map.

"Hopefully," she sighed as she rolled it back up.

"Hey," called Zoro, hand on a black katana, "We're being watched."

"Really?" asked Luffy. "Where? Where?" Always excited, that one. Though… he might just be hungry…

"Watch out!" called Zoro as he turned. Too late though as Luffy was moving to dodge shots fired at his feet. Nami yelped and ran back to stand/hide beside the ships. Zoro and I watched the surrounding forest on the cliff, looking for others. Then, three by three, pirate flags made their way around the cliff we were facing.

"Whoa," gasped Luffy. "That's so cool!" he yelled as he flailed his arms. It was kinda cute how excited he was…

"Is this supposed to be when we're impressed?" asked Nami as she raised a brow.

Then a guy came out from behind a tree and stood in front of all the flags. He was about mine and Luffy's age, by the looks of it. He had curly black hair that was chin length and had a beige bandana over it as well as large, round dark eyes. He wore brown overalls rolled halfway up his calf, a white sash around his waist and off-yellow boots. On his left forearm was a blue and white striped armband and a yellowy-beige bag slung over his right shoulder. The thing that out the most was his nose. It was long and thin and reminded me of Pinocchio.

"I'm the notorious captain Usopp!" he declared boldly with folded arms. "Feared pirate and ruler of this village! So you better think twice before attacking this island! My army of eighty million super being pirates would squash you like bugs!"

"**AWESOME!**"

I facepalmed at Luffy's density. There's no way 80 million people could fit on this island. Seems Luffy was the only one who believed it.

"Liar," said Nami.

"Damn! She knows!" he yelped.

"Yep," our navigator smirked.

"Damn! I admitted that I lied!" he cried as he wiggled. "She's a master of interrogation!"

"What!?" asked Luffy, clearly disappointed. "He was lying?!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Obviously."

"Curse you, you crafty tactician!" yelled Usopp. "Eighty million might have been an exaggeration," _Ya think?_ "But I do have a great may men under my control!"

"My guess is three," Nami and I said in chorus, causing us to smile at each other. Great minds think alike :).

"Whaaa! She _does_ know!" three kids popped out from the bushes, dropped their flags and ran.

"Hey! Where're you guys going?!" Usopp called after them. "Come back!" He then turned to us, looking scared.

I looked down and saw something shiny in the sand. I knelt down and picked one up. It was a lead pellet. Cool.

"I've never seen a pirate with a slingshot before," I mused.

"That's pretty cool!" laughed Luffy.

"Shut your mouth, or I'll shut it for you!" he reached into his bag and pulled out a green slingshot. "I'm a proud man and I won't stand for it!" He pulled the sling back, "This is your last warning, or you'll see why they call me 'Proud Usopp' and not 'Pushover Usopp'."

Geez, this guy really needs to stick to one name. Notorious? Proud? Great? Next he'll be calling himself the 'Dread Captain Usopp'. Luffy moved his hat to shield his eyes. What's he planning?

"You've seen how good I am with this thing. So you know I can rival anyone with a pistol."

"Now that you've drawn your pistol," said Luffy, "are you willing to use it?" he smirked from under the brim.

If Usopp wasn't scared before, he was now.

"Guns aren't for threats, there for action. Are you willing to risk your life?"

Zoro and I smirked.

"I can assure you, we're real pirate," I said smirking at Usopp, bangs shadowing my eyes.

"Consider you next move very carefully," said Zoro, that demonic smirk in place as he popped out his white sword.

The stare down lasted a full minute before Usopp dropped the pellet and fell to his knees. "Real pirates definitely have more punch behind their words cause they can actually back them up," he said to himself. "That's so cool…"

We looked to each other before bursting into laughter.

"Damn, Cap'n when did you become so insightful?" I giggled.

"I stole that," said Luffy.

"Huh?"

"I stole those words from 'Red-Haired' Shanks, a pirate I know," smiled Luffy.

"See, I knew you couldn't come up with something awesome like that," I snickered. Luffy just stuck his tongue out, in which, I did the same. Ah, immaturity…

"S-Shanks!?" Usopp stuttered. "You know Shanks?! You really are a real pirate!"

Suddenly, a growling stomach cut off what was going to be said. Nami and Zoro turned to Luffy, who was giving his stomach a questioning look.

"Soon my precious," I cooed as I gently rubbed my empty stomach. "Soon I shall feed you the world~!"

They all looked at me; Nami facepalmed, Zoro sweatdropped, Luffy blinked confusedly and Usopp fearfully. Of me or my mental health, I'm not too sure…

"What?" I asked innocently.

"Since you're not here to attack," said Usopp, "I guess I can take you town."

"Food!" Luffy and I cheered. Both Zoro and Nami sighed. What? I'm allowed to be hungry.

Usopp nodded, "I can take you to the best place in town." And so he led the way to town. At one point, he turned to us and asked, "So, you guys got names or what?"

"Nope," I smiled, "never got one. I just travel around namelessly hoping to find the right name for my awesomeness." Nami sighed and rolled her eyes comically, causing me to snicker.

Luffy laughed. "Yeah, we do. I'm Luffy and that's Zoro. The funny one is Azure and the one in the skirt is Nami."

As we got to the restaurant and sat, Luffy ordered everything o the menu, leaving the waiter gapping. As did I, though I only ordered half of what Luffy did.

"So why did you guys stop on this out-of-the-way island?" asked Usopp as our food arrived. He sat at the edge of the table as the booth only fit four, Luffy and I sat on one side as Nami and Zoro sat on the other.

"Well, we need supplies, maybe get some crewmen and hopefully a bigger ship," I said around a piece of bread.

"Crewmen and a bigger ship?"

"That's right!" said Luffy as he chewed at some meat.

"Wow! What a great adventure! Well you won't find any galleons here in town, but there _is_ a place you can go."

"Really? Where?" asked Nami.

"That huge mansion that stands out like a sore thumb, that where! The owner is a young girl and she's bedridden."

"How'd she become owner of a mansion?" asked the ginger.

Before Usopp could continue, Luffy asked the waiter, "More meat please!"

"And more grog!" added Zoro.

"Luffy! Don't touch my bacon!" I cried as I smacked his hand away from plate. My food! Mine! I resisted the urge to growl at him.

"Are you even listening to my story?" long nose asked as Nami sweatdropped. "About a year ago, both the girl's parents got sick and died. They left her with a huge inheritance, a mansion and a dozen servants. She's rich and lives a life of luxury, but no one is more unfortunate than her."

Nami paused to think. "Forget it!" she said as she leaned forward and hit her hand on the table. I jumped a bit as she startled us. "We're not gonna find a ship here. Let's go find another town."

"Okay," grinned Luffy. "I guess we can spare some time and I got a bellyful of meat! Let's grab some supplies and go!"

"By the way, you said you were looking for some crewmen," said Usopp.

"That's right!" replied Luffy.

Usopp pointed to himself. "I'm your man! I'll be your captain!"

Without hesitation, we lowered our heads and automatically said, "No thanks."

His jaw dropped. "Don't you wanna think it over?!"

"Nope," I replied as I sipped my tea. One, piracy was a dangerous profession and not to be taken lightly. Two, I liked Luffy as our captain. Despite what people think, he's a pretty good one.

"Oh well," he sighed. He glanced up at the clock and jumped when he saw the time. "Well, it's time to go." He said as he stood quickly. "Maybe I'll see you around." And with that he left.

Then, not even 5 minutes later, the doors burst open. "The Usopp Pirates are here!"

We looked up to see three strange-looking boys standing in the doorway, holding small wooden swords.

"Who're they?" asked Nami as she looked over her shoulder.

"Beat's me," replied Luffy as he finished his drink.

"They look like the brats that ran earlier," I said, crossing my arm on the table.

"Hey! Where's the captain? Could they have finished him already?" They ran up to the table. "Hey, you pirates! What'd you do to our captain? Give him back!"

Luffy placed his cup down and sighed happily, "Ahhh! That meat was delicious!"

"I don't know," I frowned lightly. "I think it was a little gamey."

"M-Meat?!" the boys gasped in horror. "The Captain! They couldn't have–!"

Nami and Zoro sniggered. I blinked for a second. Oh! They though we ate Usopp! I smiled creepily at them.

Zoro leaned on the table with his head propped in his hand. "If you're looking for your captain…" he trailed off.

The boys looked up shocked, "W-What did you do to him!?"

Zoro grinned evilly. "We ate him."

"GYAAAAH! OGRESS!" they yelled at Nami as they freaked out, eyes popping out and everything.

"WHAT ARE PUNKS LOOKING AT ME FOR!?" Nami yelled back. She then turned to us as we laughed, "It's not funny!"

"They shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," I snickered.

Nami sighed in irritation and got up to awaken the fainted children. She then told them what happened. "'Time to go'?"

"That's what he said," replied Zoro. "Then he left."

"It was probably time to go to the mansion," said Pepper.

"The mansion where the sick girl lives?" asked Nami, surprised.

"There's only one mansion, Nami," I pointed out with a smile. She shot me a glare causing my smile to widen.

"Why would he go there?" asked Luffy.

"To tell lies!" answered Carrot.

"That's no very nice," Luffy sweatdropped.

"Yes it is!" said Pepper. "It's very nice! Right?"

"Yeah, it's great!" added Onion.

"While the action of lying is generally frowned upon," I said with my head propped in my hand, "it's the reason or cause for doing so that determines whether it's truly wrong."

"Huh?"

"Well, someone may lie to protect someone they care for. That would be a good reason to lie, don't cha think?" _Whether they know or not…_

Carrot nodded, "The captain lies for a good reason."

"Kaya, the girl that lives there, is weak and has been in a depression since her parents got sick and died," said Pepper.

"So he tells her special lies that make her laugh," said Onion.

"Hey! He is a nice guy!" exclaimed Luffy.

"So he's been telling her stories for the past year to cheer her up?" Nami mused.

"That's what I like about the captain. He's a meddler!" grinned Carrot.

"I like the captain cause he's so bossy!" said Pepper.

"I like that captain cause he's so boastful!" added Onion.

Zoro sweatdropped, "Hmm… He's sure got a lot of good qualities." I think he was being sarcastic…

"Then the girl's spirits must not be too low," Luffy pointed out.

"That's right! Thanks to the captain!"

"Well, that settles it!" said Luffy as he suddenly stood. "Let's go ask her to give us a ship!"

Nami stood as well, hands on the tabletop. "But we already decided _against_ that idea!" she yelled.

"Luffy," I looked up at him and tugged on his vest, "we don't make her feel better. Usopp does…"

Thing is, once Luffy is set, there's no stopping him. And that's how we ended up standing outside the iron gates of a very big mansion.

"Hey you!" he called out. "Give us a ship!" When there was no reply, he started to climb over the gate. "Okay, let's go in!"

"Ever hear of knocking?" the boys asked.

"Fighting Marines, thievery, now trespassing?" I sighed. "Damn it, Luffy, you'll get us all in trouble." Not that I minded trouble, or that I haven't pissed off the marines, or that I've never stolen, or… well you get the point. It's getting random civilians into it that I minded. Or for no reason.

"Nami facepalmed, "There's no stopping him now," she said voicing my earlier thoughts.

"I guess we'll have to go with him," said Zoro as he uncrossed his arms to follow our oblivious captain.

After getting everyone over, not fun by the way, we made our way around the building. We finally found Usopp sitting on a branch near a second story window, talking to the girl in the room.

"Captain!" the Usopp Pirates called out.

Usopp spun on his branch and looked to the seven of us, "What're you guys doing here?"

The boys pointed to Luffy. "We brought these guys with us."

"Who are they?" the girl, whom I assume is Kaya, said. She looked really sweet, delicate too, with shoulder-length pale blond hair and light brown eyes.

"You must be the mistress of this place!" smiled Luffy.

At this point, Usopp had dropped out of the tree and wandered over to Luffy, throwing his arm over his shoulders. "Oh, they heard of my reputation from afar, and came to seek me out. They're the newest members of my crew!"

"Yeah!" agreed Luffy. _Wait for it… _"Hey! That's not right! We came here to ask a favor of you, Miss Kaya!"

"A favor? Of Me?"

"Yeah! We want a big sturdy ship!"

"What is the meaning of this!? You do realize that you're trespassing?!" yelled a fancily dressed man. He was really tall, with black slicked back hair and round glasses that constantly slipped down his nose.

"Klahadore…" mumbled Kaya. Obviously he worked for her. "You see, these people, they're–" She stopped when he held his hand up.

"Save your excuses for later," he then turned to us. "You must all go immediately. Or do you have some sort of business here?"

"I want a big sturdy ship!" smiled Luffy.

"I can't help you." He replied instantly. Zoro patted a depressed Luffy on the back as the butler, Klahadore I think she said, took notice of someone.

"You… You're Usopp, aren't you?" asked Klahadore, causing Usopp to panic a little. "You're reputation precedes you; you're the talk of the town."

My eyes narrowed. I didn't like this guy before, he was giving off bad vibes, now I like him even less.

"Uh… Thanks! Call me 'Captain Usopp', if you please," he replied. "But really, there's no need for flattery."

"The guards, they've reported seeing you lurking around the estate," said the butler as he pushed up his glasses with the heel of his palm. "Do you have any business being here?"

"Well… yes, I do I saw the Legendary Mole enter this estate. I'm trying to capture it!"

"Hmph, you've got a gift foe deceit."

"What!?"

"I've also heard stories of your father," he pushed his glasses up again. "You're the son of a filthy pirate. I wouldn't put anything past you. Stay away from Mistress Kaya."

I gasped. Well, didn't expect that… I don't think the other three did either. Who knew that Captain Usopp actually had pirate blood?

"… A filthy pirate?" he ground out.

"You and Mistress Kaya are from completely different worlds. Is it money you're after? How much do you want?"

Kaya looked appalled. "YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, KLAHADORE! YOU OWE USOPP AN APOLOGY!"

The butler turned to her window, "Mistress Kaya, why should I apologize to this trash? I only speak the truth!" He turned back to Usopp, "But I do feel sorry for you. Your treasure crazed idiot father abandoned you."

"Klahadore!" Kaya cried again.

Usopp glared at the man, "Stop badmouthing my father!"

Klahadore smirked as he pushed up his glasses up again. "What are you getting so worked up about? Why not just fabricate some outrageous lie about your father? Just say he's really a merchant, or that he's not really your father, or perhaps–"

"**SHUT UP!**" roared Usopp as he rushed the man, punching him hard in the face. I blinked in surprise; Usopp didn't seem like violent type and judging by Kaya's and the boys' shock, they thought so too.

Klahadore pushed himself from the ground. "See how he is? His first instinct is violence! He's an animal–like his father!"

"SHUT UP! I'M PROUD THAT MY FATHER IS A PIRATE! I'M PROUD THAT HE'S A BRAVE WARRIOR OF THE SEA! You're right. I _do_ make up stories! BUT THERE'S ONE THING I'LL NEVER LIE ABOUT! AND THAT'S MY PIRATE HERITAGE! I'M THE SON OF A PIRATE!"

_Well said Usopp_, I smiled.

"A pirate, a 'brave warrior of the sea'?" asked Klahadore as he stood. "That's a deceitful way to twist the truth. Nonetheless, your behavior is indisputable proof of your ruffian heritage. Lie all you want but, when faced with difficulty, your first recourse is violence! And I know you're only kind to Miss Kaya because you're after her."

"What!? I–"

"I'M ONTO YOUR SCHEME YOU SCALAWAG! YOU'RE TRASH, LIKE YOUR PIRATE FATHER!"

"That's enough!" yelled Usopp as he grabbed the man's collar, ready to hit him again.

"STOP, USOPP!" Kaya cried out. "PLEASE, NO MORE VIOLENCE!" Usopp's hand stilled. Kaya covered her eyes with her hand and took a shuddering breath. "Klahadore's not a bad person… He takes care of me! He only wants what's best for me. He just… went far…"

"Leave the grounds," Klahadore demanded as he knocked Usopp's hand of his shirt. "This is no place for a ruffian like you! Never come here again!"

"Fine, have it your way. I'm leaving. And I'm never coming back!" he yelled as he walked towards the gate. Kaya looked heartbroken as she watched him walk away.

"You stupid smelly _butt_-ler! The captains a great guy!" yelled Carrot.

"Yeah, fool!"

"Dumbbell!"

"Knucklehead!" I sweatdropped.

"You too, Luffy?" asked Zoro as he smacked Luffy on the back of the head.

Suddenly, Zoro and I had to grab hold of him as he tried to attack the butler. Nami, on the other hand, was struggling with the Usopp Pirates.

"Get off this property at once!"

* * *

><p><strong>It took me three tries to get her memorydream right. **

**I purposefully skipped Gaimon** **and the island cause I had no use for it. But they still stopped there, I just made Azure sleep through it. Where do you think they go the fruit from?**

**Hopefully, I can get the next chapter up soon. I'm kinda just pushing through this arc cause I can't wait for the Baratie and Arlong Park.  
><strong>

**Anyway, Cioassu :3  
><strong>

**Silver  
><strong>


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